Set Fire to the Rain
by The Queen of Asgard
Summary: Caddy Evans never thought another SPARTAN would walk into her life but that was before the Master Chief came back to Earth. However, now there are whisperings of a force more powerful than the Forerunners ready to claim humanity. MC/OC Read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi and welcome to all you lovely people out there in the real world! Today, (we) have an extra special story for you! Who's this "we" you ask? Well, this story is a collaboration of the two minds of Flamboyant Cuttlefish and EmeraldxLady. This is my first collab story and I've been finding it rather fun to write so far...but we're only on the first chapter so...yeah...XD **

**Anyway, this story has nothing to do with Penny or Emmaline or any of her characters. This is a completely new story but it shall be amazing, nonetheless! :D (Now my "D" key is being a poopface. XP) So, as always, I invite you to review and just be awesome, because I know you all are! :D **

**Cadence Evans © me and EmeraldxLady's so...no touchie! **

**Halo **©** Bungie, 343 Industries, Microsoft, all that jazz! **

**Now...READ!**

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_I let it fall, my heart,_  
_ And as it fell you rose to claim it_  
_ It was dark and I was over_  
_ Until you kissed my lips and you saved me_

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The UNSC loading bay was alive with activity, especially after they had received word of the Master Chief's return. Of course, there was one person this news didn't particularly phase and that was one Cadence Evans, a bona fide pilot who had provided air support for the Chief when he was on Earth during both battles on the home planet of humanity. Cadence or "Caddy" was never really the type to get so hyped up about someone's big return; instead she merely passed the news on nonchalantly but enjoyed the reactions of others when they got the news. It was fucking hilarious when their faces contorted into strange shapes and she was able to privately laugh about these matters with her best friend, Rhett over a cold beer.

She glanced up from helping the lead mechanic as he worked on the rotor blades of a damaged Hornet and then handed him a wrench.

"Guess the Chief's back." She said simply, hoping for a reaction. However, the man was about as apathetic as a dumb AI.

"Really?" he asked tonelessly and Caddy rolled her eyes, unsatisfied with the reaction. She quickly wiped her greasy hands on her pants before she blew her black hair from her eyes. It was thick but cut to the standard of all UNSC women, but always held back with a black scrunchie, almost as dark as her hair. She leaned back on the palms of her hand and watched the hubbub around her. People were running around trying to get the hangar cleaned up for the Chief's return.

Caddy scoffed and stood up suddenly, knocking a screwdriver off her lap that made the mechanic jump. "Well...I'm gonna go get cleaned up, I guess." Her lips turned up into a slight smirk as she thought of her rendition of getting "cleaned up." She would look neat but nothing like the female officers that would put on pounds of makeup for his return.

_What is he, the fucking president?_ She thought to herself, chuckling under her breath. Putting her greasy hands in her back pockets, she walked casually but there was an air of grace about her as she headed towards the showers. The showers were co-ed, though right now it was crammed with people trying to hit the showers before their hero arrived. Caddy snorted in an unladylike fashion as she headed for a locker she claimed earlier that week. She was opening it when she felt a stinging smack on her ass, seeing Rhett grinning from ear to ear, she only assumed he was excited.

"Shit dude, you scared me," She said with a laugh and Rhett wrapped an arm around her shoulders and began whispering in her ear.

"Well, that wasn't the point, honey. The point is that your ass looks pretty fine in those jeans." He growled and she shoved him away playfully.

"Shut the hell up you perv!" She grinned at him as he began to walk away, glancing at the taut male forms under towels and boxers. She laughed and rolled her eyes again thinking about the first time that Rhett had come out with his true sexual orientation.

"These are not jeans...they're the shitty military pants, nowhere close to making my ass looking good..." she remarked to no one in particular as she began to undress, tossing her dirty clothes in the locker and grabbing a towel. She wasn't shy about her naked body but she knew that men would look at the tight ass she was supposedly blessed with.

"Come on asshole; let's go fight for a shower." She was grabbed at the arm by another female officer who, after Rhett was her best friend, Florence Holden. "I'll show you how bitchy I can be when I don't have a fucking shower."

Caddy was forcibly dragged along with her friend as they shoved their way through half naked guys and girls. There was usually no hanky-panky in the showers when Holden came into the room, people knowing if they decided to get hot and heavy in the showers, she would have something to say about it.

"Dear Lord woman, I practically tripped three times because of you," she teased as they finally claimed a shower of their own. Caddy ducked her head under the hot water as she let it rinse away the grime and filth. There was a sudden wolf whistle that rang shrilly through the shower room, but Caddy didn't pay any attention.

She grasped the shampoo Flo had been smart enough to grab and poured some out into her hand and scrubbed her head so hard she thought it might bleed. Swearing under her breath as she got shampoo in her eyes she glanced over at Flo who was yelling at someone over the shower door, although under the shower head, it was impossible to understand what she was saying.

"Fucking perverts," She muttered before Caddy allowed her to squeeze under the showerhead. "God above!" She yelped, "Did you use all the hot water?"

"I'm not the only one using hot water Flo," she smiled, grabbed her towel and exited the shower cubicle and left Flo, heading back to her locker. Rhett attempted to smack her bare ass with his towel like a whip but she dodged it.

"Dude, enough!" she laughed, but Rhett winked and flashed Caddy his bare butt. "Oh, SO didn't want to see that!" She yelped as Rhett snickered and then moved over to change. Caddy pulled out her pilot's uniform and smoothed it out. It was standard wear around these parts but she had her own touch to prove her authority in the air. A pair of aviator sunglasses that she had owned since she was a newbie in basic. That was over thirteen years ago and she refused to get rid of them.

She slipped into her bra and panties before yanking up the pants and struggling with the button. She had gained weight since the war with the Covenant ended. Finally, she pulled on the button on shirt and smoothed out the shoulders.

Caddy then tried to find a spot in front of the mirror between squabbling female soldiers and put her hair in a quick bun and shoved her cap down over her unruly curls. She glanced over to see Flo's sleek brown hair already up in a traditional knot, fighting with a ditzy looking private.

_Why must she pick a fight with everyone?_ She mused before she smoothed down her thin dark eyebrows, her pale skin now flushed from the humid, sweaty heat. She left before she actually began to sweat in her uniform.

She hurried out of the shower room and exhaled sharply, enjoying the sharp, cool air after being in the showers. She wanted to run down her room that she shared with groups of female officers and allowed the door to open, exposing the bare walls and cots that the women were forced to sleep on. There was nobody else in the room and she glanced at her watch. She still had twenty minutes until the ceremony that would welcome back the Chief so she decided to make the most of it...it was nap time.

She crawled up into the messy bunk and tipped her hat down over her eyes. Was her bed always this comfortable? Caddy yawned and then turned over on her side, telling herself that if she fell asleep, she would kill something.

The next thing she was aware of was someone shaking her shoulder and yelling at her to get up. She whipped her hat off her head and rouge curls flew everywhere! Florence was shouting out her but in her sleepy stupor, she couldn't tell exactly what she was saying.

"Cadence, do you realize that you missed the fucking ceremony?" Flo yelled as Caddy finally awoke and sat up. Checking her watch, she saw she had missed the whole thing. She groaned loudly as she fell back down onto her bed.

"Sergeant Evans, get the hell up!" Flo pinched the inside of her thighs hard and Caddy jumped over the side of the cot, landing perfectly on the floor.

"Shit dude, I am so sorry," Caddy apologized, running a hand through her hair, making it bushier and if possible, even wilder than it had been before. Her grey eyes darted around like a wild animal's as she tried to come up with an explanation. "I fell asleep," She said finally, placing her hat back on her head.

"No shit, Sherlock," Flo scoffed and then rolled her eyes, "I told them that you were violently ill and were in bed with the flu. They asked me why you weren't down at the infirmary and I told them that you weren't that sick."

Caddy felt a weight lift off her shoulders, "Flo, I could kiss you right now!" She gasped, resisting the urge to grab her friend and hug her. Florence rolled her eyes and then turned on her heel to go...somewhere.

"Will I see you at dinner?" She asked and Caddy finished pulling her hair back out her face.

"Probably," She smirked and winked at her friend, "I had a mild case of food poisoning but am now feeling much better."

"Good, cause your ass was almost the Captain's..." she waved and walked out of the dorm. Caddy sighed as she changed into grey pilot pants and a black tank top, she grumbled as she walked out of the dorm and headed for the launch bay. She glowed at the sight of her "babies" when she finally arrived. Some recognized her but none dared laugh. She headed for the Hornet that she was working on with the head mechanic and seeing it unfinished and left in a huge mess, she growled and narrowed her eyes in disdain.

"Asshole!" she snapped loudly, her voice echoed throughout the bay. She kicked a box of tools and swore profusely, hopping up and down, clutching her foot. "Son of a bitch, fucking asswipe...Bane of my fucking existence." She muttered under her breath as she put her foot back on the ground and began to clear the mess.

She continued to work on the mess until she glanced up at the clock. It was just about time for dinner and she hated to think she would miss two important events in one day, wiped her hands on her pants and donned on a oily jacket that she had been using earlier as a rag. She was completely unaware of the oil marks on her cheeks like war paint and the piece of greasy hair clinging to her ponytail.

She slipped into the mess hall before anyone could stop her for being a health code violation and grabbed her food, finding a spot next to Rhett and across from Flo. She angrily dropped her food on the table, luckily not making a mess and sat down heavily. Rhett sighed and leaned on his elbow, looking at her.

"Let me guess, head mechanic left a huge mess by one of your 'babies' again?" Rhett made quotes around the word "babies" to emphasize the obsession that had been going on since he had known the spunky pilot.

"Fucking dick, it was **my **Hornet too! He is such a ditz... the people higher up should fucking fire him...I don't care how brilliant he is with machines." She ranted and Rhett glanced at Florence in their universal sign of, _'Caddy's ranting again, batten down the hatches.'_

"I mean, seriously! Come on! How competent do you have to be to just clean up your mess?" She continued, stabbing her meat with her fork. "The guy is an idiot and I seriously need to talk to...somebody about him."

Florence rolled her eyes and allowed her friend to vent until her eyes landed on another table and she leaned over to Caddy and Rhett. "Don't look now but I think there's a rather attractive guy is looking over this way."

Rhett instantly was all ears. He looked around until his eyes spotted the man and his shoulders instantly fell, "Figures he'd be looking at Caddy."

"What?" She demanded but then cried out as Florence kicked her under the table, "What the hell was that for?"

"A super adorable hunky guy is looking over this way and you have the audacity to go and totally blow it?" She glanced back over at the massive man and then whipped her head back towards Caddy, "Well now you scared him off. Way to go, dipshit."

"Do you think I care?" She scowled and poked her potatoes with her knife.

"Of course you do," a new voice chimed in, "All the girls swoon at him."

Caddy turned slowly, looking up at a chiseled man wearing green pants and a black muscle shirt with an ODST tattoo on his shoulder. Caddy scoffed.

"Look here pal, I don't swoon, if I like someone, I let them know, and you are as hell ain't one of them."

"Oh boo hoo" the guy mocked, "Like I care what a Marine like you cares about me."

Caddy stood up from the table and glared at the guy. With her height just below six feet, she actually might have been a rather formidable adversary for the ODST. She narrowed her eyes and put two hands on the guy's chest and shoved him backwards!

"I don't just tell anyone that I really dislike them off the back but with you I can make an exception." She snapped and then sat back down like nothing had ever happened, "And by the way, I'm not just some average Marine." She pulled her aviators out of her pocket and slipped them over her eyes and gave the guy a cocky grin, "I'm a pilot, asswipe. Maybe you've heard of me? Cadence Evans? Some call me Kamikaze?" She looked at the guy over her glasses and leaned back into the table, "You are dismissed, Marine."

The guy looked taken aback but then took the step to put his tray down at the table next to Flo and leaned across it, looking at Caddy right in the eye.

"No, I can't say I've ever heard of you, but then again, you are just a Marine." He leaned back and Rhett had to hold Caddy back from reaching straight across the table and slugging him in the face. He chuckled and then toasted Caddy and began eating.

"Cadence, you need to chill!" Flo ordered and after a few choice swear words, Caddy obeyed reluctantly as she pushed her food away, no longer having an appetite.

"Caddy eat, if you don't you'll I'll go apeshit on your tiny ghost ass…" Florence shoved a fork in Caddy's direction and slowly, a grin broke over the brunette's face.

"I am the ghost..." Caddy teased, flicking peas into his face with her plastic spoon like a catapult. Rhett closed his eyes, obviously exasperated, then opened his eyes again. "You are so mature Caddy, really." he said sarcastically.

"We all have inner children Rhett... mine just never died." she refilled her spoon full of ammunition and launched another assault on the ODST. Most of the peas found their mark in his drink but several stray ones flew in different directions and one of those rogue peas ended up in the coffee of a passing man who happened to stand 6' 10" and who happened to really dislike peas his whole life.

His eyes turned to the table where the peas had come from and they met the eyes of the pretty woman that he had been glancing at earlier. They were grey but in this light, they appeared to almost be silver. They widened considerably as they made eye contact and she pointed at the sharp featured man next to her who gave her a look of complete and utter disdain and slapped her hand away. She dropped her spoon onto the table and looked away from him, hiding her silvery eyes behind her long dark lashes. she bit her lower lip, they were pale pink that contrasted well with her pale skin, her shoulders began to shake as she hid her mouth with her hands. To his own astonishment, she was laughing.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked, his voice was rusty but it caught all of those who heard off guard as they stared up at him. No one dared move or make a sound, his face was deathly terrifying. Caddy felt her stomach drop to her shoes and her smile dropped. However, you could take the girl out of the sarcasm but you couldn't take the sarcasm out of the girl.

"Sorry, I didn't know that you had a thing against peas," She snorted and John took back everything he had thought about the girl.

"You idiot!" Rhett hissed, elbowing her in the side, "You pissed him off!"

However, Caddy was never really one to know when to stop and continued on her tirade, "Sorry you don't have a sense of humor. I personally thought it was hilarious."

He didn't say anything but placed the coffee down on the table and looked at her with his steely brown eyes. "Go get me a new cup."

Caddy's smile faded and she looked up at him, their eyes met and he saw that they had turned a shade darker. She snatched the cup and chugged the coffee, spat out the pea into her hand and placed the cup back down.

"Better, now that it's not contaminated?" she asked, her silver eyes challenged him. John didn't feel threatened but he was feeling irritated by her behavior.

"What is your rank soldier?"

"Sergeant." She shrugged, her inky black curls bouncing slightly. John pushed the cup towards her again.

"Get me another cup...now." his voice was darker and Caddy knew that it was probably better to let this sleeping dog lie. Resisting the urge to shove the pea up the Chief's nose, she dumped it back out onto her plate and then slowly made her way over to the coffee dispenser. The whole cafeteria held their breath, waiting to see who would win this battle of stubbornness.

However, both Rhett and Flo knew that their friend wouldn't give up that easily. She indeed filled up the cup with the hot beverage but instead of returning it to the Chief, she gave him a smirk and a mocking wink, brought the cup up to her lips and downed the whole thing in one gulp.

Rhett knew that this would cost her immensely. She would be thrown out of the UNSC! She would suffer a dishonorable charge! She, in general, would be royally screwed. However, to his great surprise and relief, she refilled the cup and brought it back to John But, she placed it front of her and then looked up at John and arched an eyebrow.

"You want it, you get it." She smirked, he paused for a moment then in a blur, the coffee was in his hands and he was already halfway down the aisle, leaving the mess hall. Caddy stuck her tongue out at him behind his back.

"Nice to meet you too!" She called after him, the whole roomed relaxed as the tension was lifted but Flo kicked her hard in the shin, Caddy yelped angrily.

"Do you realize who that was?" She hissed, narrowing her eyes in disdain of her friend.

"Don't know, don't care." Caddy remarked leaning back and rubbing her shin, "Damn, has anyone ever told you that you have one hell of a kick?"

Rhett rubbed his temples "Cadence, I have to break this to you, but...that was Master Chief...the Spartan."

Cadence paled, then flushed then paled again. She suddenly realized that she might be on the Spartan's shit list.

"Fuck..." she whispered. "What the hell have I done...?"

"You pretty much doomed your entire military career," Flo pointed out and Caddy put her head in her hands and let out a rather obscene swear word that caused Flo to kick her under the table again."

"Dude, the admiral's in here, shut your mouth," She hissed and Caddy peaked behind her fingers to look at the new addition to the mess hall. Ah yes, Admiral Victor Wayne, ultimate thorn in Caddy's side. The guy despised her and wasn't afraid to show it. If the Spartan had told Wayne that she had made a spectacle out of him in the mess hall...she was doomed.

However, the Spartan didn't seem like the kind of person to go and tattle on obnoxious Marines and true to intuitions, he moved straight passed their table. Caddy sighed with relief but she still witnessed the death glare from the Admiral over her shoulder.

_Dickwad..._ she thought bitterly, she stood up and bussed her area, "Gonna go to the bay you guys...I'll catch up with you later."

"Rounds?" Flo asked, picking up her tray and glancing back at the woman who might doom them all.

"Probably..."

Caddy waved and threw away her trash on the way out and headed for the launching bay, when she arrived she was approached by the lead pilot. "Evans, I need you to go pick up some troops on the east side, coordinates already programmed in your Falcon, on the double!"

"Yes sir!" she saluted, she shed the oily jacket and headed for the Falcon. Getting in the driver's spot, she put on her helmet and started the machine up, which came to life in seconds. She slid on her aviators and grinned, throttling the engine and lifting off the ground.

"This is Sergeant Evans, am I clear for takeoff?" She asked into her headset and the crackly voice of the flight commander sounded.

"Green, Sergeant. You are clear for takeoff."

"Hell yeah..." She grinned and then gunned the engines, and with a whoop, ascended into the air. No matter where she was, she knew that her place would never be on Earth but in the air with the birds. She had joined the UNSC when she was seventeen years old and it was clear to everyone around her that she wasn't cut out for being a soldier but a pilot and a damn good one at that.

She had flown into the heat of battle and when her Pelican, a war torn machine that she had fondly named "Sparky" landed, the battalions on the ground knew that help had arrived. Caddy was daring but this daring spectacle had gotten her in trouble more than once. Heading eastward, she checked the coordinates, it would take a little while to get there but she knew that she would be there in no time. flying just above the trees, she looked around for anything that might pose a threat. when she finally arrived, she had to peek around at the bottom, seeing a man waving his arms, she nodded and slowly descended to the ground, the propellers whipped the trees around in a frenzy as she hovered there. She felt the weight of the men coming on, one of them was injured.

"We need to get this kid medical attention ma'am, fast!"

"Got it" she replied then called the commander, "Sir, we have a wounded on board, we need medics on the dock as soon as we arrive."

"You got it Evans," The line was dead in a matter of seconds and she lifted off, praying she could make it back in time. The trees became toothpicks once again as the Falcon took off. The miles flew by, the ground seeming worlds away. This was her territory.

Finally, she managed to land the Falcon in the loading bay and the men tumbled out, the injured one fell out and she could tell that he wasn't breathing.

"Shit," She swore, her medical training kicking in. "Get a medic," She commanded batting the inexperienced hands of the Marines away. She tilted his head up and and pinched his nose closed, pressing her lips to his and blowing air into his lungs. He still had a pulse, so CPR wasn't necessary but she gave him rescue breath after rescue breath, checking his pulse every two minutes. Finally, the medic burst into the launch bay and brushed the pilot out of the way and began to resuscitate him.

The man began to breathe again and the medic looked up at Caddy as his companions rushed him to the medical ward.

"You might have just saved his life," The medic said respectfully and Caddy just blew a curl out of her face.

"If that's what you've gotta do to save people, then I'm willing to help." She said simply and turned on her heel to leave. She didn't leave time for the medic to say anything more, her confident face now suddenly darkened as she grabbed her helmet and walked out of a different door from the main. She took the long way around, thinking about her time as a medic. She was always confident in saving lives and she did save many but also she lost many. Those faces of the ones she lost, the ones she let down still haunted her... she gritted her teeth and she headed off to the showers, feeling rather bitter.

She cast off her pants and shirt and enjoyed the emptiness of the shower. She loved it when there was nobody in there except for her and her thoughts but no matter how hard she tried not to think about it, her thoughts kept drifting back to the Spartan...

She couldn't help thinking that maybe that hadn't been the right thing to do. He WAS a Master Chief Petty Officer, after all. Maybe she was the bigger bitch than him, but she couldn't help but think of his features...Handsome, built like a mother fucking god! She kinda liked his voice but she couldn't really tell if she truly liked it; she noticed how many scars he had...the poor bastard. Caddy then thought of his composure, a man who saved the entire universe, she had met him once, but she doubted that he would remember. She was kinda scrawny back then... she filled out a lot thankfully. She had been rather young...Nineteen when she met him the first time.

He was Fred-104 and they had met on accident when she was still training to be a doctor. He had been injured and she had been the only doctor on duty. Unlike what she had seen from John, he was funny and suave and instantly captured her heart as soon as she had taken the shrapnel from his leg.

After that day, she had romantic notions of Spartans and even had the secret fantasy of becoming one...fighting alongside Fred for as long as she possibly could. However, fate called them apart and as if it couldn't be any crueler, after she had told him that she had fallen for him...hard...he had shut her down. Of course, he had never loved her. They had been friends but he had different emotions than she did different duties. While his was to save the fate of humanity, hers was stitching humanity back together.

She quickly became a pilot after that. When Fred suddenly vanished, the idea of her never seeing him again hit her hard. She cried many tears in those few months but she had to hide them because tears and pain was a sign of weakness. She knew she had to move on and ever so slowly, she did. Now thirty-two years old, she was mostly over him but she never would forget her brave Spartan that had captured her heart.

She turned off the water and sighed for a moment, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her athletic but slightly slender frame. She stepped out, the water dripping from her hair and making her feel like a shaggy dog. She grunted and pulled her thick, wet locks out of her eyes. She quickly dropped the towel from her frame and stretched, unaware that she had an unwanted audience.

Someone cleared their throat and through the haze of steam, she made out a tall figure who had apparently had just stepped into the shower room. Caddy whipped around, her towel clutched to her chest and saw none other than the Chief standing at the door, looking more awkward than any other person she had ever seen in her life.

"Gods, I'm in here!" She attempted to cover up being mortified by being angry but her voice betrayed her. She grabbed her things and then hurried back into the shower stall, deciding that getting the Chief all hot under the collar wasn't worth the mixed emotions that she was feeling at the moment. Any other guy she would have just shrugged it off and let their lust filled peabrains fill with all sorts of horrid fantasies of her in a lucid maid's costume but this was...A Spartan. She couldn't pretend that she didn't feel weird about being around him.

John let out a soft chuckle as he walked to his shower cubical "I'm not going to hurt you..." he said loud enough for her to hear. She didn't think that he was really one to chuckle so maybe he found her antics to be funny…

She shivered but she gritted her teeth. "You might..."

"For what you did in the cafeteria?" he asked, "no, that would be immature and I'm not one for revenge..."

Thank the lord. She then heard the sound of the towel being whipped off, she had no choice but to peek. Oh yes... she was happy that she did. her hide her face as she blushed, she wrapped the towel around her body and briskly walked out of the shower, her locker happening to be really close to his.

"Why didn't I see you earlier today?" He asked her and she tried to keep her cool. Hot, half naked Spartan standing in the shower extremely close to her...she was NOT going to lose it...She couldn't stand this guy! He probably knew he was hot shit!

"I had the stomach flu?" She said feebly and she heard the Spartan scoff.

"You didn't seem sick when you flicked that pea into my coffee."

"I have amazing recovery time..." she lied. John closed his eyes and smirked, letting the water run through his short hair, it was starting to get long again. Caddy was standing there, in a towel, she wasn't getting her clothes on and she hesitantly reached for her panties when she heard the water go off, she snatched the panties and put them on with her towel still on, she managed to look over her shoulder for a moment, and in that moment, she saw his whole front side. Her female brain reacted and she tried to hide the strangled gasp she released as the powerfully lean, muscled, scarred Spartan body was revealed for her grey eyes to feast on. She blushed and looked away, totally wondering what augmentations had made him completely and utterly hot. However, deciding that it was time for her little fantasy trip to come to an end, she quickly dressed and hurried out of the shower before anything else was revealed.

She hurried down the hallways to her dorm, surprised her nose wasn't bleeding and quickly opened and shut the door to her room. Most of the women were already in their room but some had to say goodnight to boyfriends. Flo looked up and her eyes went wide when she saw her friend's face.

"The hell happened to you?" She demanded and a wide, crooked grin passed across Caddy's face.

"Did you know we have a model in our midst?" She said dreamily, falling back onto her bed, "His name is the Master Chief."

Flo sat up instantly and dropped the comb she had been using, "Dude," she gasped, "Did you see...him shirtless?"

"Better than that," Caddy murmured, closing her eyes in rapture.

"Oh my...You little skank!" She slugged Caddy in the arm and then rolled her eyes, "I'm so jealous!"

"Continue being jealous, sweetheart," Caddy said, grabbing her pillow and squeezing it tightly, "Because I'm going to hold onto that image forever!"

"I thought you hated the guy," Flo pointed out and Caddy sat up and arched an eyebrow.

"I don't like him but that doesn't mean I can't admire his rocking body and ah...manly parts..." She winked at Flo who rolled her eyes and then walked back over to her bunk.

"Goodnight, pervert." She said and crawled into bed. Caddy was grinning like a fool when the lights went out, she rolled to her side and willed her body to sleep. To her disappointment she had a dreamless sleep, spotted with periods of being awake. Her nap earlier that day had caused her body to reject sleep. She slowly got out of bed and padded across the room to the door where it softly beeped and opened for her.

She continued down the hallway until she came to the launch bay and hurried in. When in doubt, she found the presence of her machine comforted her and made her feel safe. She crawled up into the pilot seat of her Falcon and let the silence engulf her. It weighed down on her body but made her eyelids drowsy. She leaned back into the seat of her Falcon and slowly, her eyes closed and her body relaxed. Finally, her mind drifted off and to her amusement, her dreams were full of John-117 dancing around in nothing but a pink fluffy tutu.

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**Oh yes, we would ALL like to see the Master Chief in a pink tutu. Anyway, collab between me and EmeraldxLady. Go give her some lurvins. **

**Reviews make the world go round and round and round and...^^**


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome back everyone! *Waves like a nut* I hope you're all having a splendid day...or night...whenever you're reading this...**  
**Anyway, we (meaning Emerald and myself) would like to pride ourselves with having a rather original plot...read on and you shall find out what this is...mwahaha...:3 **

**I would again like to thank my co-author and very good friend, EmeraldxLady who has been very patient with me and my grammar fixing parties I have late at night when we tend to write. XD Please go show her some luvin' and give her a cookie or...something like that. She deserves it greatly. :D**

**Reviews are lovely to both of us. Personally, I think they're what makes the world go round and so today, I'm making reviews mandatory! Critiques are lovely, except if they're nothing but flames, and so is praise. Both are grader than the Tetons.**

**Halo © 343 Industries, Bungie, Microsoft**  
**Cadence Evans, Florence, Rhett © EmeraldxLady, Flamboyant Cuttlefish**

**P.S. Give us songs for a playlist! We're always collecting! :D  
**

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_"You make me feel, out of my element, _  
_Like I'm walking on broken glass,_  
_Like my world's spinning in slow motion, _  
_And I'm moving too fast..."_

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-June 28th, 2554-

-Location: Marianas Trench, Pacific Ocean-

Captain James Vaughn was known for his daring feats of heroism during the Great War against the Covenant. He was a decorated man, his chest displaying this proudly what with the multitude of ribbons and medals he proudly wore.

His submarine, the UNSC's _Western Lady,_ glided across the ocean floor as silently as the manta rays it had been modeled after. This wasn't traditionally UNSC's territory but since humanity had reached its limits on space, the ocean was the next best place to look. The AI designed for the sub suddenly appeared and the captain turned towards the gentle glow that now lit up the interior of the sub.

"Sir, something unusual has come up on the radar. I need you to take a look at it."

"Show it to me, Kendra."

Kendra didn't miss a beat and brought up the holographic map of the ocean floor. She narrowed it down to the small holograph of the sub that was heading towards a darkened area that wasn't showing up on the map.

"If I am not mistaken, this area has not been mapped out, but the current is pulling in the sub. It would be best if we grounded the_ Lady_ so we can send the pods in for further investigation."

The captain narrowed his eyes and then pursed his lips. "But we don't know what could possibly be in there," He sighed and clenched his fists, "I won't put my men and women in danger if I can avoid it...Can we send the drones?"

Kendra was silent and still for a moment but her placid face quickly turned into one of disappointment, "Negative, Captain Vaughn. It's impossible for the drones to go out because of the pressure of the ocean floor. We're sitting at 12,000 feet below the ocean's surface. The only way we're going to see what's ahead is going to be if we send out actual submarines."

Vaughn sighed and then tucked his arms behind his back, "Alright. But only the best pilots we can afford. I don't want just anyone going into uncharted waters, no pun intended."

Kendra didn't even crack a smile, "Of course, Captain."

"Who do we have on board that is trained thoroughly?" He asked, moving around the table to get a better look at the map.

Kendra brought up the files "Most of the crew on the Lady are not trained in piloting, but..."

she brought up several files, bringing up one of them, Sgt. Jeremy Harrison.

"He is one of the best, but we would have to call him from the UNSC Oracle. It would take a while...but…" she then brought up a photo of a dark haired woman with grey eyes.

"Sergeant Cadence Evans is one of the UNSC's best pilots. Fought in the battles of Voi and New Mombasa and provided personal airstrike for Master Chief Petty Officer John-117's mission. Age: thirty two."

"Pretty little thing..." he commented and thought of the similarities between her and his granddaughter.

"With a huge attitude. She has authority issues but her skills have proven to be legendary...but she's all the way back on the surface."

The man pursed his lips tighter and touched his chin, looking at the woman's picture. She was indeed a looker but he could see a wild streak in those steely eyes. "Alright. Here's what we'll do. I'm going to send out some of our pilots right now with our miniature submarines. If they find something of interest, we'll recruit those pilots and they can come down here and explore farther into this...whatever it was."

"Should we request the help of the Spartan?" Kendra asked and Vaughn snapped his head towards her.

"Why would we do that?" He asked and Kendra arched an eyebrow.

"He's only the UNSC's best fighter...and the only Spartan left." She pointed out and the captain scoffed.

"Spartans, like most metal objects, sink. There's nothing in that cave that is going to require Master Chief." He touched a button with his knuckle and then spoke into an intercom by his head, "This is Captain James Vaughn. All submarine pilots report to your pods and prepare for launch."

He lifted his knuckle off the button and then smirked at Kendra who crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes.

The crew was suddenly in a hurry as pilots dressed and crawled inside the one man pods. Four of them boarded as the pressure sealed the top entrance. The sub came to life as they got into their seats. The lead pilot strapped down his goggles and grinned to the rest of his crew as he reported to the Captain.

"Sir, we are ready for launch."

"All right Creedy, on my mark..." there was a soft beeping before the Captain ordered "Launch!"

The pods were dropped through the energy shield that protected the Lady from harm. The pods nearly touched bottom before their lights came on so they could see through the dark, murky water. The crew of the small submarine winced as their ears popped under the pressure and even though they had been trained for the mission, they were still unprepared for the pressure. Oceanic creatures scurried out of the way, being used to the dark and shyed away from the light. The animals down here were flatter than pancakes because of the pressure and Creedy knew that most of them lacked the proper air pockets to ever see the surface of the water. Down here there were mostly flounders and several types of jellyfish that bobbed through the current that drew the ships into the caverns opening.

Creedy frowned slightly as he turned on his radio. "This is Creedy, go ahead Captain Vaughn."

"Alright son," Vaughn said as Creedy smoothly guided the miniature submarine through the current, "I want you to be careful of anything that might be lurking down there and if you see ANYTHING that might threaten your life, I want you to get out of there as soon as you possibly can."

"Aye aye, Captain," Creedy said and slowly eked the sub forward into the gaping maw of the tunnel, wondering what could be down there.

"What do you see Creedy?" Captain Vaughn's voice crackled to life and he winced as it sliced through the silence of the submarine.

"So far, nothing Captain," he told him honestly, "The current's pretty mellow, even more in here than out in the open but nothing strange." He glanced at the cavern's walls and saw tube worms and Yeti crabs clinging to the sides of the cave. Creedy came to the conclusion that the tunnel must had volcanic activity inside of it. For a split second, he thought, in horror, that the cavern might be connected to a volcano but then qualmed the idea. There was no way they wouldn't have seen that on the radar. Creedy didn't mind the deep sea but this was giving him the serious case of the heeby jeebies.

"Sir... I don't like this place, it's really strange... kinda creepy."

"Son, I don't want you complaining" The Captain replied irritably, the camera that helped him look at what was going on; he didn't want to admit that he was also feeling a little freaked out. The camera panned to the walls and Vaughn saw with horror and fascination that there was writing and drawings on these walls. Suddenly the camera began to go out of focus, Creedy went deeper, suddenly one of his men spoke up.

"Sir, I think there is something out there!" his voice was a higher pitch than normal and Creedy could tell something spooked him.

"Its probably a fish or something Jackson," he reassured him but felt like he was on pins and needles himself.

"No sir, it was bigger an- oh my god!" then the line cut, and only static remained.

"Jackson!" Creedy shouted, suddenly a current pushed him violently to the side. From the corner of his eye, a shadow shot past. Creedy whipped his head around as a deep, reverberating growl echoed throughout the cavern. The hair on the back of his neck stood up on end and his hands froze to the controls.

"Sir..what the hell was that?" One of his co-pilots demanded and Creedy turned slowly to see his face as white as snow in the dim lights of the control panel.

"I...I don't know...but we've got to get out of here!" Creedy shouted, his voice giving his current state of emotions away. He flipped the COM-Link on between other ships and then started yelling into them. "ALL UNITS! GET BACK TO THE SHIP! THERE IS SOMETHING BIG IN HERE AND IT ISN'T AFRAID TO KILL!"

"What are you talking about, Creedy?" A female voice demanded until he heard her gasp and then yell in surprise and horror as her COM-link went dead too.

"Collins? COLLINS?" He yelled into the headset and then yanked it off as turned back to his crew, "There is no way we can make it back, not with the current slowing us down as much as it is right now. We have to continue as fast as we can into the cavern."

There was silence until his youngest co-pilot slowly brought up his hand in a shaky salute, "Aye Aye, Captain Creedy."

The engines were fired up again and they began to zip through the tunnel, Creedy praying that there wouldn't be another monster farther down in the tunnel. However, his prayers were answered and they sailed along in complete and utter silence for about fifteen minutes until they came into a giant opening, probably larger than fifty football stadiums and taller than the Empire State Building.

"Where the hell are we?" Creedy gasped and fumbled around on the bottom of the sub for the headset, which he slowly place back over his ears. "Sir?" He asked in a shaky voice.

"What in God's name are you doing down there, Creedy?" Captain Vaughn demanded and Creevy gave out a little shaky laugh.

"Well...Have you ever heard of... the Lost World?"

"The what?" The captain demanded, obviously confused by the statement.

Creedy shook his head "Lost worlds...like Atlantis, El Dorado, Shangri-La...Mythical places that are said to be lost in time...Those sorts of places."

Vaughn was silent for a few moments before speaking again, his voice extremely soft and scary. "Why are you bringing this up now?"

Creedy swallowed noisily and then laughed again, "Well, I think we found one of them...We've discovered the Lost City of Atlantis."

The city was underwater, obviously and the only souls that still remained were flounders and starfish that clung to the rocks. However, the cold water and pressure of the cavern had preserved the city perfectly. Though the Ancient greek architecture, statues and glittering metals now eroded from the sea salt and time.

The small sub glided through the city like a bird on the wings, startling fish that darted out of its way.

"What the hell...?" Creedy murmured as he caught glimpses of rich, colorful mosaics, still visible under the thin mire that covered the city. Gold still glinted in the light of the submarine as they steered through the houses and temples that were probably once alive and thriving with people.

"Bloody hell, what happened to this place?" Came the voice of Creedy's second in command.

"It sank, haven't you heard the legends about this place?" Creedy asked in a hushed whisper.

Suddenly, something caught Creedy's eye and he glanced over to see a gentle light that filled him to the brim with happiness. It looked like a Caribbean ocean on a cloudless day and beckoned him with such an intensity, he couldn't help but be drawn into it.

"What's that light, Creedy?" The captain asked, his breath so hushed it almost tickled Creedy's ear.

"I...I don't know sir but...it's very nice..." He whispered and urged the sub farther on.

Suddenly, the Captain's voice was urgent. "Turn around right now Creedy. That's where the current is coming from! Turn around right now and get your ass back to the Lady!"

"But Sir, I have to..." Creedy's voice was lost to static and Vaughn felt his skin pale. He ripped off the headset and yelled into the microphone, "Creedy! CREEDY, ANSWER ME DAMMIT!"

"Sir, I am picking up no signals from Creedy or his men." Kendra said cooly as the captain fell back into his chair. She uncrossed her arms and cocked a hip, her eyebrow twitching ever so slightly. "Still don't think we need the Spartan?"

"Well...I'll be damned..." the Captain whispered the papers dropping out of his hand a whirlwind of white.

* * *

**[Surface, UNSC Base the New Hope: The United Republic of North America]**

Caddy sat in the mess hall, massaging her neck. It was one thing to sit in the pilot seat comfortably, it was another to sleep in it for five hours. Caddy was discovered by the head pilot who thought it was funny to take a picture and put it on the wall, with the catch phrase.

_**This is Dedication, Learn from your Mentors.**_

Caddy didn't think it was very funny, seeing that her sleep face was less than attractive. Tearing it down, ripping it up and throwing it away made her feel better, but she wasn't aware that the head pilot posted them everywhere. Along her way to the mess hall, Caddy tore down all of the posters until there were none left. However, to her great dismay and embarrassment, most of the base had already seen the posters and were calling her "The best damned mentor since Quincy Allen." Quincy Allen happened to be the sole culprit of the giant crash involving four Falcons, three Hornets, a Pelican and half a bottle of vodka. It wasn't a pretty crash.

Feeling grumpy and nonetheless tired and sore, she slammed her tray down next to Flo and Rhett who gave her looks of complete and utter mirth.

"Well look what the cat dragged in!" Rhett said, pounding his best friend on the shoulder. Caddy groaned and shoved her hand over her head.

"Please keep the noise to a minimum," She mumbled, feeling like she was experiencing a rather nasty hangover. "Why the fuck do the lights have to be so bright in here?"

"Because they don't like you and your so called, 'Plane Hangover'," Flo said, buttering a piece of toast, "We saw the posters everywhere, Miss Dedication."

Caddy groaned and slid her elbows down onto the table, "Fuck my life..." She mumbled and squished her face up into a rather unattractive look, "I hate everyone so much right now..."

"What about the Chief and his killer body?" Rhett teased, pointing a fork at Caddy. She made a face of disgust and then looked at Flo who went along, innocently eating her eggs and toast. She looked up and tried to seem innocent but Caddy knew that it was a ploy.

"What? Rhett asked me if anything else happened between you two last night and so I told him! I just told him the truth..." Flo winked at Rhett who was grinning like a loon.

"Nothing happened, I just saw him...naked and I had a dream about him in a pink tutu...don't tell him that."

Rhett burst into a fit of laughter and Flo looked disappointed and shocked all at the same time.

"What, no kinky Spartan sex, what's wrong with you?" Rhett demanded, Caddy threw her hands up in her defense and rolled her eyes.

"Sorry..." she replied sarcastically"My brain is fucked, but we already knew that."

"Oh brother..." Flo said, rolling her almond shaped brown eyes before glancing over Rhett's head to the door, "Don't look now Caddy but your knight in his birthday suit has just walked into the dining room!"

Rhett's own head jerked up and his eyes scanned the room, "Where is he? Is he really...Oh dammit...Just some old Marine duds." He sunk back into his chair and halfheartedly chewed on a piece of rice bread. "Why can't the hot one's ever walk into the dining room in nothing but their skivvies?"

"Because the Chief is already called by our local seductress," Flo smirked and hit Caddy lightly on the arm who had just began to eat her cereal. Milk went everywhere and Caddy glared at the other woman.

"Dude, I'm trying to eat my fucking cereal," She said grumpily and then looked back at her cereal, "I did not seduce him!" she growled angrily, but the idea wasn't a bad one.

Rhett snorted and rolled his eyes, "Good luck trying to get him to sleep with you. I've heard that Spartans have like, no sex drive at all."

Flo looked at him suspiciously and then picked up her fork, "Not COMPLETELY gone, Rhett. They've been suppressed by about 95 percent but they're for sure still there. You just gotta dig in deep." She winked at Caddy who pretended not to notice, "You have your work cut out for you, honey."

Caddy finally had enough. She stood up abruptly and then, in a loud voice, announced, "I DO NOT WANT TO SLEEP WITH HIM! I'M NOT SOME WHORE!"

The whole cafeteria went silent as she sat back down and continued eating her cereal. Flo glanced at Rhett who looked back, obviously trying to keep a laugh contained. Caddy flushed angrily but she ignored the stares as much as she could.

"Look, Caddy we are just trying to lighten the mood here, don't need to go apeshit about it...are you mad about the posters?"

"Ya think?" Caddy snapped. The trio didn't realize the 6'10" man was now walking up behind Caddy. Flo noticed first and she smiled at Rhett.

"Hey sexy," Flo said, "Gonna join us?"

"I can't stay but I found something for Caddy," Caddy glanced up and saw a mischievous glint in John's eyes and her stomach dropped. Could the thing in his hand be...? Oh no...he didn't actually...

John let something fall onto the table and Flo and Rhett began howling as Caddy's sleeping face, complete with drool and hair stuck to face in a strange position. The bottom of the poster bore the statement, _"This is Dedication, Learn from Your Mentors."_

Oh yes, John did indeed have a bone in his body that wasn't dedicated to fighting. It was dedicated to making Caddy pay for the coffee the night before. Her face turned bright red as she realized that she was indeed on the Spartan's shit list.

Now more Marines were crowding around the table and those who hadn't seen the poster were whooping and hollering, slapping Caddy on the back.

"Good mentoring skills, Sarge!"

"Way to get them head on, Caddy!"

"Good luck shaking that one off!"

Before Caddy could respond to that, John had turned on his heel and left the mess hall. Caddy swore that she would kill that bastard if it was the last thing she ever did.

Rhett recovered enough to sit back up in his chair and wipe a tear out of his eye, "Caddy...That is really a good picture of you!"

"Shut up...SHUT UP! It's not funny!" She gasped, trying to keep her fists under control. With that, she shoved through the Marines surrounding the table and hurried out of the mess hall, trying to decide where to go. She chose the showers because there, she could cry by herself and nobody would be able to see her.

She shoved past groups of Marines who gawked at her...the Poster Pilot and unfortunately, in the hall, came into contact with the person she wanted to see the least, the Admiral. He looked down his nose at her and frowned.

"Sergeant Evans. What is the meaning of all the posters around the base?" He demanded and she blushed even darker.

"I'm sorry, Sir...It wasn't me, I promise!" She babbled but the admiral held up his hand.

"To tell you the truth, I don't care who's fault it was. But I saw your face on it and that means that you obviously had something to do with it." His frown deepened and his eyes narrowed suspiciously, "What was the meaning of the posters?"

"Head pilot thought it would be funny," She mumbled bitterly and the admiral arched an eyebrow.

"I see. If I see something like that again, Evans, it will be your ass I'll be hauling into my office. For the time being, I expect you to take down all the posters and clean the mess hall after breakfast."

Caddy's head snapped up and her eyes widened, "But that's unfair! I didn't even do anything!"'

"My orders Evans, NOW!" he barked, Evans straightened and saluted before she went on her cleaning assignment, she tore down every last poster angrily and tossed them in the trash. When it came to the mess hall, she angrily told everyone to eat up and get out. Everyone scurried out until no one besides her, It was quiet. Grabbing a broom, she began to sweep the area, cursing under her breath. Caddy didn't notice John hadn't left, he sat in the corner watching Caddy clean.

"I'm sorry..." he spoke up, Caddy stopped her sweeping and looked up at him, her eyes were darker and stone cold. "I never meant to get you in trouble."

"No you're not..." she replied, "You enjoyed it."

John sighed, "I did at the time but... I felt really childish afterwards..." they stared at each other for a few moments until she snorted and looked away, continuing to sweep, "Whatever Chief..." she said softly, she wiped her eyes, making the tears go away. She continued to sweep the floor until she felt the broom removed gently from her grasp. She whipped around to see the Chief's stony face above hers. Her eyes quickly snagged a glimpse of his thin, yet silky lips, wondering what she would have to do to get a taste of those.

Flo's words came back to haunt her, about Spartans only having five percent of their sex drive still active and decided that this might be a conquest worth searching for.

"Call me John," He said softly and then chuckled, "The Master Chief died in space when the ring collapsed."

Caddy looked at him for a moment, as he pull the broom away gently, their fingers brushed against each other and her heart skipped a beat. Caddy coughed nervously "Call me Caddy... my actual name is Cadence. Though Caddy sounds...better."

"Caddy..." he echoed "Nice name."

Caddy blushed a bright pink "Uh... thanks..." she mentally slapped herself for not being more suave. _Just like with Fred!_ She thought irritably. John began to sweep and Caddy reached out.

"Oh, you don't need to do that, the admiral told me to-" she stopped when his brown eyes looked at her, they were soft, almost sweet looking and Caddy lost all ability to speak. Her heart raced as her body went still.

"It's alright... I can handle it. Besides, I am already halfway done," he said in his usual, rusty and emotionless tone. Caddy stepped back and nodded, her hands gripped together like they did when she would talk to Fred.

_Oh god...what's wrong with me?_

She shook her head, trying to rid of herself of the unwanted rush of emotions. She couldn't be falling for him that fast! No! She hated him! He made her look like a fool in front of the whole base! Caddy recovered from her bouts of emotion coursing through her belly and grabbed the broom from John's hands.

"The Admiral told me to do it," She snapped, fighting down the blush that was threatening to emerge, "I can handle it from here, JOHN." Caddy put as much emphasis on the name as she could and then turned her back to the Spartan and his...sexiness.

Everything was wrong with her. She had a thing for hot guys and muscles. One of the many reasons she joined the UNSC to begin with...after dropping out of med school. She didn't really like to talk about her time there, anyway.

Suddenly, a voice was heard over the loudspeakers and Caddy looked up to see John was gone.

"Attention, all UNSC base personnel," The pleasant female voice said, "Please report to the briefing hall immediately for immediate briefing. That is all." The voice went silent and Caddy groaned and rubbed at her stiff neck, now sore from her work in the dining hall. Her head was throbbing from the lack of sleep and she felt gross. All she really wanted to do was take a hot shower and crawl into her bed. However, that wasn't going to happen until she went to this stupid briefing. Finally setting the broom aside, she left the mess hall and slowly made her way to the briefing hall. She was one of the people to arrive last. She found Florence and Rhett, standing next to them she looked at them sourly.

"I'm still mad as hell at you guys..." She hissed.

Flo snorted but covered it up as a cough, "No, you're not. I know you well enough, Evans."

Caddy softened slightly but she turned her head to face forward when the Admiral appeared on stage. Everyone saluted precisely and in time, Caddy noticed John standing on the platform as well. He was looking at a female AI that Caddy did not recognize when the hall grew quiet. The Admiral cleared his throat and began to speak.

"Soldiers, it has come to our attention that at 1500 hours on the evening of June 28th, the UNSC submarine, _The Western Lady_ sent out seven manned submarines into uncharted territory into the Marianas Trench in the Pacific Ocean."

"We have submarines?" Rhett gasped and then grinned wickedly, "That's awesome."

A holographic map showed up behind the Admiral, showing where the ships had gone. "At 1515 hours, five of the seven ships had lost contact with the Lady and they are considered KIA. A human could not survive at those depths." The female AI said briskly and Flo arched an eyebrow.

"She's a little underdressed for this briefing," She snickered, inferring to the AI's scantily clad body, covering up the bare essentials.

The female AI continued as if she hadn't heard the comment, which she probably didn't. "At 1530 hours, the largest of these seven ships, a manned submarine with a crew of four, too disappeared from the radar but their disappearance was a little more...Supernatural, especially when they sent back these pictures."

One of the photos was of a beautifully carved statue of a woman in see through robes, like a Greek goddess, though the marble was slightly eroded. The water was blue and crystal clear like in tropical waters. The next image was of a temple, like one from ancient Rome. This one had pictures of fish, a couple sharks and a manta ray, along with a freaky looking creature out in the distance. Unlike the rest who stared at the image in interest, Caddy looked down at her shoes. She suddenly felt sick as she felt her hands grow sweaty as a memory of struggling in water literally flooded her mind. Florence noticed Caddy's behavior and realized what was going on, she grabbed her hand and squeezed it and Caddy finally gathered the courage to look at the pictures. She was slightly sweaty and looked more pale than usual and that worried Flo quite a bit.

"Are you okay, hon?" She whispered and she heard her friend swallow audibly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Caddy mumbled and tried to get her act back together. However, memories of that fateful day still played games in her mind. She closed her eyes to get away from the pictures and prayed to God that she wasn't going to be going on this mission.

"_The Western Lady_ is stationed in the San Francisco bay, about three hundred miles off in the West," The AI continued, "The Admiral and I have already compiled a list of all those that the captain needs on this voyage. They are as follows..."

Next came a long list of names, both Rhett and Flo were on. They grinned at each other and nodded, ready for whatever would come their way. Finally, the AI came to the pilot's list and Caddy crossed her fingers and mumbled incantations and spells under her breath.

"Captain Vaughn needs people to pilot these miniature submarines," She continued, looking around the room, "Meaning most of our pilots will be going to help the Lady in her conquest...The list reads as follows..."

Sergeant Cadence Evans was third down on the list.

Caddy grew pale, she was as white as paper when she stared at her name with wide silvery eyes. John from the stage noticed Caddy's expression and frowned slightly at her, but she couldn't tell. Caddy's pupils became dilated as her head swam, her mind screaming at her and cold laughter filling her ears. Her vision began to tunnel out and her body went cold and clammy as she felt her knees buckle.

John was off the stage and shoving people aside before she could even fall. He wrapped his strong arms around her and grabbed her before she hit her head.

"What happened?" Rhett gasped, a little in envy, but mostly in shock and surprise.

"She fainted," John said calmly, "I saw her body showing signs of distress while I was up on the stage but I never thought she would actually..."

Her head lulled to the side and John cradled her gently in his arms, "There is no way that this woman can possibly perform her duties as a Marine under these circumstances. She can't go on the mission."

The Admiral frowned and then looked at the AI who sighed.

"John..." She began, "Captain Vaughn asked for this pilot in particular. She can't possibly stay behind."

John suddenly looked angry as he turned to look at the unconscious female, she slowly began to stir as she opened her eyes. Caddy felt herself being suspended in the air as her vision clearly slowly, looking at the reason why she was floating, her gray eyes went big when she saw John holding her... four feet off the floor. Her face went from pale to tomato red in three seconds tops, she then realized why she fainted.

"Please don't let me go..." she murmured under her breath, she didn't say why. John looked down at Caddy; she avoided his gaze as she slipped out of his arms and stumbled, her head still spinning as she fell to one knee. The Admiral smirked.

"See, she is all better now, she can do the mission." He insisted coldly and Caddy looked at him with as much malice as she could muster. However, she knew her place in line and knew it was better not to step out of it. She stood up, still shaking like a leaf while Florence wrapped an arm around her.

"Are you alright?" She murmured and Caddy gave her a shaky smile.

"Really fucking shaky," She mumbled back and gave a slight laugh. She closed her eyes and wished she could be back in John's strong arms but knew that that would be pretty close to impossible.

"We start loading for the San Francisco Bay area at 0800 hours tomorrow!" The AI said in an authoritative voice, "You are dismissed, Marines."

There was the normal hubbub of everyone leaving the room but John stayed behind with Florence, Rhett and Caddy.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked her softly and she closed her eyes.

"I'm strong, John. Don't worry about me. I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself." She couldn't bear hearing his voice right now and she let Florence and Rhett lead her out of the Hall. Florence guided Caddy to the dorm the rest of the way because Caddy still felt like she was going to puke everywhere.

"Caddy, that was really scary, what the hell happened?" she asked her voice high with concern.

"Emotional stress." She said sharply and Flo arched an eyebrow.

"Bullshit. I know you too well."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you... you'd think I was lying." Caddy replied, her voice was hoarse and soft and she sounded sick and stressed.

"Yeah, whatever it is, it isn't good," Flo replied, she placed a hand on Caddy's slender shoulder affectionately. Looking Caddy in the eye, she whispered.

"Whatever is it...I won't tell anyone, even Rhett."

Caddy looked at Flo for a long moment, she then let out a shaky sigh and looked around, they were luckily alone. Caddy sat down on her cot and massaged her temples.

"Flo...I am deathly afraid of water." She blurted out and then turned her red cheeks to Flo again, "there, you happy?" She asked angrily before looking away again.

"Girl, what happened?" She demanded, "You're fine in the showers! And you drink water all the time!"

Caddy gave a shaky sigh as her stomach calmed down, "When I was a little girl," She began, "I loved to swim. I always thought I was the best at it...even though I really wasn't. My mom used to work at this big pool and she would always keep the cover on half the pool to keep it warm until the swimmers started arriving."

"Well...one day, I decided while my mom was in the office, I was going to swim under the cover and come out on the other side without goggles." Caddy closed her eyes and shivered at the memory, "To make a long story short, I didn't make it to the other side. I got trapped underneath the pool cover and couldn't get out and I nearly drowned but fortunately, my mom saved me...but I had already passed out. They didn't think I was going to make it, to tell you the truth. My mom performed rescue breathing on me for seven minutes before the fire department showed up and was able to revive me."

Caddy rubbed her arms up and down over her body, "That's where I got the phobia from," She admitted, "When I came to, my mom quit the pool and became a teacher instead. I never again went swimming after that."

Flo was silent for a few minutes but then reached over and wrapped her friend in her arms, "I'm so sorry Caddy...I had no idea..."

"Nobody really does." Caddy admitted and then yawned, exhausted from the events of the day. Caddy gently pulled away from her friends embrace and lay down.

"I'm going to sleep now...wake me up when it's time to go. An hour early if you can." She said with a chuckle. Flo snickered "of course..." Caddy smiled before she willed herself to sleep. This time, Caddy dreamt of John, not in a pink tutu or a any other crazy outfit. He was walking towards her in his fantastic green armor, taking off his helmet, he smiled, a smile that Caddy never saw on a Spartan...a true, genuine, almost loving smile.

* * *

**Reviews are mandatory and appreciated. Hop to it.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi again everyone!**** Flamboyant Cuttlefish (AKA Hannah) here with your fix of our dear Caddy! Anyway, in advance, I would like to apologize for any grammar mistakes or spelling mistakes or canon errors. It was 11:45 when we finished this chapter. XD**

**Again, I share the credit of this idea with my dear friend EmeraldxLady who is half of the crazy brain that writes this stuff. So...go show her love and read her other stuff. She would appreciate that methinks...**

**In other news, reviews are appreciated and enjoyed by both authors. Any criticism is fine as well. We are both big girls, we can take it. **

**As always, we only own Caddy, Rhett and Florence and other OCs. John belongs to (me, I wish) 343 Industries and Bungie**

* * *

_**[San Francisco Dock, Boarding the Western Lady: 0700 hours]**_

Caddy lightly stepped around the dock, she was on edge and felt that any moment that something related to water would happen. Caddy was trying to find any excuse to not board the Lady just yet, Flo was getting irritated by her behavior, even though she understood why Caddy was acting weird. Rhett however watched Caddy, completely and openly appalled by her actions.

"Caddy... are you afraid that something that might jump out and kill you?" he asked. Caddy didn't answer but instead eyed the submarine warily. Flo crossed her arms and glared.

"Let's go! I want to go inside the sub and in the next year would be awesome."

Caddy groaned, picked up her small sack and headed for the sub rather quickly, her face determined to get on the sub. She knew that the sub wouldn't hurt her, it's just the element that would soon surround it that freaked her out. She began to climb up the stairs to the boarding plank. Looking down, she would have to cross but she stopped, below lay the gentle ripples of water that she saw. Already the hair on the back of her neck and arms were on end. Caddy looked back Flo, she waved at her to continue.

Caddy exhaled, shook out her hands and made her way across, not daring to look down. She could smell the salt from the sea water as she approached the opening of the sub. Her hands slightly shaking, she quickened her pace but as if on cue, a huge amount of salt water splashed in her. The next moment, Flo and Rhett saw Caddy flip out like a cat. She screamed, bolted inside the sub and plastered herself against the wall, breathing heavily. The Captain had witnessed this and stared in surprise but he recognized her as the desired pilot. However, he was expecting a more professional meeting than a terrified young woman with wild eyes and crazy hair.

"Sargent Evans, was it?" He asked slowly and Caddy glanced at him and her eyes went wide. She stood at attention quickly and blushed profusely.

"Sergeant Cadence Evans, reporting for duty, SIR!" She emphasized and the captain arched an eyebrow.

"At ease, Sergeant," He chuckled and then girl gave a sheepish smile.

"Forgive me for being a bit jumpy Sir..."

"A bit jumpy?" He asked and she rolled her eyes.

"Very jumpy. I'm not a water loving person, if you catch my drift." She admitted and the captain chuckled again.

"You're the wrong girl for this expedition then, Sergeant Evans," He said and his eyes flicked back as two other people scrambled down the ladder. Florence and Rhett quickly saluted and the captain saluted back.

"Good to see you all, hopefully when the Chief arrives, we can get this thing moving... Evans, are you sure you can handle this?" he asked, Caddy nodded more enthusiastically than intended. The Captain nodded "I will see on the bridge in fifteen, after we have dived, I expect you and the other pilots to be on time."

"Yes Sir!" Caddy saluted, he nodded and turned on his heel and left. Caddy bolted for a bedroom, or more like a tiny dorm with four bunks. Flo and Caddy claimed the bottom bunks that weren't taken by other things.

"I'm gonna stay in here while we go under..." Caddy said softly, Rhett crossed his arms and looked at her through squinted eyes.

"So...you are a cat. With your ability to land on your feet and your fear of water, you must be a cat."

"Yeah Rhett," Caddy said sarcastically "I'm here because there is tons of fish to eat. Shall I lick my fur and butt for you?"

"Ew." Rhett laughed and then slung his bag over his shoulder. "Okay. Well, I'm going to go find my bunk, get settled in and meet the hot marines." He gave the girls a wink, turned on his heel and waved the girls off.

Caddy fell back on her bunk with a FLUMP and gave a shaky sigh. She knew she was going to cry. She closed her eyes and massaged them so hard with the palms of her hands she saw stars dancing in front of them.

"How did I get roped into this, Flo?" She mumbled and looked at her friend. "I'm totally screwed."

Flo sat down next to her friend and rubbed her back slowly, "Nobody's died going on a submarine, Caddy."

Caddy gave a little shriek and bolted upright, hitting her head on the extremely low clearance of the top bunk. "That is a complete and utter lie and you know it!"

Flo hesitated and then rubbed the back of her head, "well, okay...maybe that's not true...But they haven't died in like...five hundred years or something."

Caddy paled and then began to hyperventilate, "Oh my gods...oh my gods...I am going to die...I am going TO DIE!" She leapt up from the bed and then began to pace. "I'm not cut out for this. I am going to faint or throw up or die or something..."

"Oh what a pity John won't be here to save you this time," Flo teased gently and Caddy whipped her head around to give her a death glare, "just kidding with you, sweetheart."

"Not funny."

"It was too...and you know it, you liked it when he saved you" she smirked evilly, Caddy flushed angrily, she scowled and opened her mouth to say something only to be interrupted by a horn and the sudden pressure of the closing doors, too late for Caddy to make an escape, she was stuck.

"Dive, Dive..." was all she heard, but she didn't feel a drop or anything, it was a smooth descent unbeknownst to her. Caddy peeked out, checking the time she made a quick wave to Flo and carefully walked through the narrow halls to the bridge. She got lost and had to have help from a crew member, who got a kick out of helping her. It wasn't hard to find after that. Walking around the corner to the bridge of the sub, she saw the powerful back side of a suited man she knew well, but was too terrified to enjoy the view.

"Hello Chief," she whispered as she shimmied up next to him. He regarded her with a nod, his helmet shielding his face. She was disappointed to see that he had worn his armor on deck but found herself enjoying the helmet too.

She then glanced outside the windows and nearly fainted in terror again. Looking again, she had to remind herself that they were in the sub, not actually in the water. Fish and other aquatic animals swam by the giant window and looked curiously into the submarine. Caddy willed herself to breathe deeply and fought off the feeling of claustrophobia leaking into her veins. The fact that water was everywhere only reminded her that if something went wrong, they would all die in this giant tuna can...herself included!

Caddy inhaled sharply and someone squeezed her on the shoulder. She turned to see Flo wink at her and then point to the small platform that held the mustachioed captain and a beautiful AI who stood at ease. She was wearing a long white dress that was belted at the waist and had long flowing chestnut colored tresses. Her eyes betrayed her as an AI due to the fact that they were electric blue. Energy pulsed up and down her body as she smirked at the crew members.

"That's the ship's AI Kendra," Rhett whispered as he came up to join their little party. John had moved farther into the crowd and Rhett's eyes turned to the green back of the man, "They say he has his own AI, Cortana."

"She was the one who almost got sent into rampancy on High Charity," Flo whispered back and Rhett exhaled audibly.

"He can hear you guys...probably loud and clear." Caddy said in a soft whisper. John turned his head slightly and Caddy laughed slightly, "told you..." as her friends stared at him with wide eyes.

"Okay people, quit the gossip and let's begin," The captain ordered irritably. Caddy quickly turned her head back towards the captain and the AI as she began speaking.

"Two days ago at 1515 hours, we were struck by an unknown force that killed over three quarters of the pilots on our ship. A group of them managed to sneak by their defenses and then were lost after following a 'bright light'." Here she put quotes around bright light. "We were at 12,000 feet below the ocean's surface inside a cave. Why is there a bright light at 12,000 feet below sea level?"

A hand raised and everyone looked over at a man who was standing in the back, "Can you go back to the thing that killed three quarters of your..." Here he arched an eyebrow and pursed his lips, "pilots?"

Caddy recognized him as another pilot who was humble about his skills but just as good as if not better than her. He was a bit older but that didn't mean that he didn't have the reflexes of a mousetrap. While Caddy's might have been skill, the other's skills were probably based on sheer luck.

"Ah yes, back to the crux of things," The AI said sharply and then turned to the windows that apparently doubled as a viewing screen. The creature that dominated the windows made Caddy want to pee her pants and made her go weak at the knees.

"What the hell...?" Florence gasped as their views were treated to the giant crab-like kraken that stared back at them.

"This was sent back to the lady five seconds before Private A.J. Walker's ship went down." Vaughn said grimly and Caddy shivered visibly. She didn't want to go up against this thing. "However, while we were in the San Francisco bay, we were able to pick up some new UNSC technology that we can use to fight back against this monster. Behold," he nodded to Kendra who changed the picture. Now instead of a sea monster, there was a ship that looked like nothing that Caddy had ever seen.

"The Water Bear can hold 5 people and can withstand pressure up to 2.5 billion tons per square inch," she recited and then picture switched to the guns. "Covenant technology gave us the guns. Each can fire 500 rounds of super-heated plasma per minute. They are much more effective at these depths."

Caddy watched the Water Bears in awe and horror. In a short time, she would be driving one of these things, responsible for the lives of 4 individuals including herself in 12,000 feet of water. She couldn't swim out of there if something happened. Caddy looked to John who was looking at the Water Bears, she exhaled slightly, she suddenly felt more comfortable when she looked at him, she blinked and mentally slapped herself. Now is not the time to be idolizing Cadence Athena Evans! She snuck another peek but she averted her gray gaze back to the pictures presented.

"Major Kevin Samuels will be the head pilot for this mission." The captain stated and the pilot saluted. He then looked at Caddy who was doing her best to hide. "Second in command will be Seargent Cadence Evans." The Captain said and looked at her, even John making her feel more uncomfortable than before. She felt a blush creep into her pale cheeks.

"Hey...I have no fucking clue how to pilot that...thing," she waved her hand to the picture nervously, she crossed her arms and looked at Flo, she just glanced back.

"Think of it as a Pelican Evans," The Captain reassured and Caddy bit her lower lip from trying to act out. She didn't want to get in huge trouble, not in front of Master Chief.

"I'd feel more comfortable just being a pilot...I'm not good in the water...if you can't remember," she stared at the Captain who sighed tiredly. The AI seemed to smirk at Caddy, who had the near irresistible urge to hide behind Rhett.

"Alright fine," He said irritably and then turned to another male who was closer to the front, "Major Annibal Ortega will be the second in command on this mission. We will release the pods at 0600 hours tomorrow morning. You are dismissed to your posts."

The hall became a chatter of voices as the marines moved towards their respective posts. Caddy shivered and rubbed her hands up and down on her arms. She couldn't imagine being the head pilot on this mission. Poor Kevin was probably..."

"Sergeant Evans?" Came a voice and she whipped her head around and quickly to stand at attention for the young pilot who had addressed her. It was Samuels.

"Major Samuels SIR," She said and Samuels chuckled slightly.

"At ease, soldier," He said and then invited her to walk with him, "The captain says you have a little bit of a...water phobia."

"Understatement of the year Sir," she admitted and Samuels laughed good naturedly. He was an African American man who was larger but couldn't be much older than her. He had been the one who could just about thread a needle with his skills with a Hornet or Pelican.

"Do not worry," He said, smiling. He had a Kenyan accent that made Caddy wonder how he became a UNSC pilot, "I will be at your side at helping you."

"You are too kind Major," she said and he laughed again.

"I have heard of your skills behind the controls of an airbird. You are one of the UNSC's best female pilots, correct?" He asked and Caddy grinned sheepishly.

"So I've been told. I study a lot of old female pilots. Foe-Hammer, Alexandria-086..."

"The Spartan?" He asked, arching an eyebrow.

"That's the one," She said and thought for a minute, "The best female pilot to ever grace the UNSC's presence."

Samuels scoffed at this, "She was a damn Spartan. Of course she was good."

"She wasn't good Sir," Caddy sighed in admiration, "She was the best of the best. Probably the greatest pilot to ever fly a Pelican. Even if she hadn't been augmented, she would have been phenomenal."

"If you insist Evans," Samuels said and saluted as a new person walked into their conversation. The Master Chief nodded towards Samuels and then looked over at Caddy.

"You alright Sergeant Evans?" He asked and Caddy nodded and then glanced back at Samuels.

"Seems like you two already know each other," He said slowly and Caddy inwardly rolled her eyes.

"Of course, she threw a pea into my coffee."

Caddy almost burst out laughing. Never in her life would she had expected for a seven foot death machine talk about her so casually. Samuels looked back at her and then flashed her a grin.

"Congrats Evans, you actually gave this big guy something to joke about."

She had to laugh at this, "Because I am definitely a laughing matter back at base." Caddy shot a glare at John, though he had his helmet on, she had a good feeling he looked back. Samuels looked at them both but shook his head, "I won't even bother asking..." he half laughed. Caddy grinned "It would be wise, cause that's not something I want everyone to know." she then turned serious.

"So, where is the Water Bear that I am supposedly in?" She asked and Samuels grinned.

"Follow me, both of you. It's gonna be fun shitstorm tomorrow." He said as they exited the main cabin and slowly walked down corridors. John had to stoop because the doors were far too small but finally, they stepped into a giant room with a giant pool and about 10 large submarine looking things that reminded Caddy of a whale. In her 32 years, she had never known a whale to go very quickly.

"Don't let their appearance fool you," Samuels said, petting the side of one of them. She tilted her head to the side slightly; a quizzical look on her face, Samuels stared for a moment.

"I have a feeling you're not well acquainted with marine creatures?" He dared to ask and Caddy looked at him.

"Hm? Oh! Yeah I am not exactly a water loving person... which includes animals. The mammals are okay but the fish... octopus especially freak me out a little."

"Well then, let me give you a tour of my all-time favorite machine," he said and flicked a little switch on the wall. The whole hangar lit up and Caddy's eyes grew wide. The machines were even bigger than she thought they had been to begin with. Samuels gave a warm laugh when he saw her eyes light up like a kid at Christmas. Even though they were water machines, he could tell that she was a pilot through and through. "4500 tons of the toughest titanium steel alloy. You heard the lady too. Nothing is going to crush one of these bad boys."

"How fast can they go?" Caddy asked suddenly and Samuels arched an eyebrow and grinned.

"They are capable of speeds up to 150 miles in the water and they are extremely maneuverable and fast, considering we're in material that's 497 times thicker than air." He said and opened up the hatch with a push of a button, "You want to get a look at those controls?"

Caddy nodded then looked down at the water and frowned, she crossed her arms, "I want to but... my watery death lies below."

"Ignore it." John spoke in his monotone voice to show he wasn't messing around, "that's how I deal with things I don't necessarily like." he moved forward, heading towards the machines. Caddy scrunched up her face in distaste as she silently mocked John in her head, "ignore It." She followed behind the Spartan, tip toeing across the bridge that made access to the machines possible. Samuels followed behind Caddy as they neared the machine; he remembered something and spoke up.

"I need to mention that sometimes the bridges get slippery from the water so be careful," Samuels advised. Caddy now stepped even more lightly, watching her feet as she walked. Finally reaching the machine, she had the look of sheer delight as she placed her fingertips on the cool metal.

"You are seriously gonna make me happy, you bad boy..." she cooed, receiving a look from Samuels but choosing to ignore it as she stepped inside. She had a huge grin on her face as all her fear of the water was replaced by the sheer wonder and respect of this glorious machine before her.

Her fingertips grazed against the pilot's seat as she shivered in delight. Soon, she would be behind these controls and driving what would soon be HER newfound prize. For a few moments, Caddy wondered how far she could really push this thing.

"He's perfect," She breathed, turning back to Samuels who wore a broad grin.

"My lord, if I didn't have a wife and kids at home, you would be my dream woman," He laughed and looked over at John, "quite the woman you picked up here Master Chief! A sharp talking woman, a pilot and she's beautiful to boot!"

Caddy couldn't help suppress a grin because she knew if she could see John's face, he would be wearing a strange expression that would either show his disdain or liking of her. However, his mask provided the ultimate poker face and so Caddy would just have to keep wondering. John though didn't replied; he just looked at Samuel and began to explore more on his own. Samuels gave an audible snort in distaste as he turned back to Caddy "Maybe he is just shy?"

"Shy? Yeah right." she snorted, but she couldn't help but feel that desperate need to know what his thought about her was. Fred never let his true thoughts out through his face but he was always honest. Samuels sighed with a slight smile.

"It's true though, the fact you are all of those things brought the both of you together. I fought with the Chief in Voi and he NEVER spoke to another marine like that. Only person he even talked to that whole time wasn't even a person. It was his AI, Cortana."

Caddy sighed "I know..." her mind traveled back in time to Fred. He had still a piece of her heart and he wasn't aware of it and Caddy wasn't going to let her heart fall in the hands of another Spartan only to have it been given back. Not this time.

"Maybe he has...another person he talks to so casually?" She tried to deter the conversation away from herself "I mean, what Spartan wants to be with a marine anyway?"

"Most of them actually didn't see themselves above marines," Samuels said as they stepped over the threshold of the machine and back onto the platform. "I met your hero, Alexandria-086 when I was 18 and she treated me like anyone else."

She shrugged and then smiled slightly, "I fought alongside Fred-108 and bandaged him up more than once as well."

Samuels glanced down at her and smiled, "You mean you didn't start out as a pilot?"

"No," She admitted, "I was a medic at first. But after a while, I found out that it wasn't for me. When I reenlisted, I signed on as a pilot and I picked up the trade quickly."

"When did you come in for the first time?" He asked and she shrugged.

"When I was 17, I was going to a medicinal school in Virginia but found that my dad's trade mechanics, way farther up my alley. My mom pushed me into med school."

Samuels whistled in a low tone, "You must have been one hell of a student to be going to med school at 17!"

She laughed and shook her head, "I wasn't. I went to school half days and then started doing pre-med shit afterwards. Man did I get teased by the kids at my school for it."

"I could imagine." Samuels said slowly and turned his head to watch the Chief get out of the machine.

"Get your fill of the Water Bear?" He asked and John nodded.

Silent to the grave, Caddy thought sarcastically and took a step forward towards the Chief. However, it was at that very moment, Samuels hand came swinging back to motion to something and caught Caddy in the chest.

Time seemed to slow down. One minute, her feet were planted firmly on the ground, the next, she was flying through the air, her hands flailing as she fell towards the deep blue, almost black water.

Caddy saw her whole life flash before her eyes and she closed them, preparing herself for what would be the very cold last minutes of her life. Her eyes closed but as she awaited her watery death, something caught her arm and pulled her forward and away from the water and she felt her cheek collide with metal. She took a step back, slightly disoriented as Samuels grabbed her shoulders.

"Sergeant, are you alright? I am so sorry!" his voice echoed through her ears as she looked at him with silvery eyes, then at John. Realizing that John had saved her, she blinked and stared for a long moment. Then she burst into fits of laughter, the adrenaline wearing off as she truly laughed, wiping a tear away she then smiled, looking at John.

"Why is it that every time I'm in some sort of trouble, you are always there to save me?" she asked in an airy, happy voice, the result of the adrenaline rush.

"Just the way fate played its cards I guess." He said, obviously trying not to make a big deal out of it. Caddy then came to the realization that she was in the arms of the Spartan and so she quickly (making sure to stay away from the water) hopped out of his arms and averted her eyes.

"I'm gonna go find Rhett and Flo," She mumbled and quickly and walked off the metal catwalk and hurried out of the launch bay, her cheeks on fire.

She found Rhett with Flo playing cards with Caddy's other two bunkmates, two privates that seemed a little too new for her taste.

"Hey girlfriend!" Rhett called, waving his hand. Caddy sat down and put her head in her hands and sighed.

"What would I do for a beer right now..."

"Would that include sucking the Admirals cock?" Flo asked, not bothering to look at her, Caddy gave her a disgusted look. "It scares me that you would actually think of that... thanks, best friend for being so supportive."

Rhett shook his head and the two privates shifted uncomfortably. Caddy gave them a rather nasty glare and they returned to their card game. Rhett laid down his cards, winning the game with a huge grin while Flo looked pissed "Hey, I had a winning hand!"

"HAD is the key word in that sentence. You know, sista... that I am Rhett, The Poker King!"

"Can't read my, can't read my, no you can't read my, POKER FACE!" one of the privates sang, causing everyone to look at him, Rhett reached out and planted a passionate kiss on the young private before he exclaimed, "You are now my new love interest and I will have you at any cost."

The private had a shocked look on his face before he turned to his friend and gave him a dopey grin. The female private rolled her eyes and reshuffled the cards before throwing them down on the floor.

"I demand a fucking rematch," She grumbled, obviously miffed that the attractive Rhett was for window shopping only. Caddy and Flo looked at each other before Caddy grabbed the cards "Alright Poker King, lets show you and your new lover what we females are all about!"

"Yeah, suck my pussy Rhett!" Flo challenged, Rhett snorted

"Sweet heart, you know my boat don't rock that way!"

Caddy adored her friends as she dealt out the cards, giving a wink at the new girl before the game began again.

Time passed as the five of them played poker until Rhett decided that the game became strip poker. Then it turned into strip go fish and clothes quickly came off. Caddy was quickly in her skivvies and Rhett had gone boldly where no man had gone before and decided to sport his man thong.

"What the bloody hell is going on in here?" Demanded a voice as the five of them jumped to the ceiling. Caddy whipped her head towards the voice and saw the disgusted face of an older officer who had wide eyes.

Rhett gave the older woman a wink and grinned, "We were just about to have an orgy, Ma'am! You are more than welcome to join us though. The more the merrier, I mean."

The woman wrinkled her nose and then rolled her eyes, "I came looking for Sergeant Cadence Evans. Is she in here?"

Caddy jumped up and grabbed her pants off the bed and bounced around until she was in them and fumbling with the button. "I'm right here, Ma'am."

"The captain wants to speak with you." She gave Caddy a strange look and then hurried out of the room, leaving Caddy to look down at Florence who was still wearing her jeans and sports bra and shrugged.

"Maybe it has something to do with the mission." She guessed and Caddy shrugged.

"Well he needs to see me anyway," She said and tugged on her blue tee shirt and straightened it, "I'll see you guys later."

"Don't be a stranger!" Rhett said as his last article of clothing came off, exposing his manly bits. "I AM A NAKED MAN IN THE MIDDLE OF A SUBMARINE!" Followed Caddy all the way down the hall as she hurried to the deck, humming "Yellow Submarine" under her breath.

She stepped over the threshold of the deck and saw in horror that they were descending quickly. Kendra the AI glanced over at her smiled.

"Hello Sergeant Evans," She said in her melodic voice and Caddy nodded as the captain turned around in his swivel chair.

"Sir," She said and saluted sharply.

"At ease Sergeant." he said and stuck a pipe between his teeth. She did as she was told and the captain walked towards her. "The Master Chief told me about your almost accident in the bay area today. Are you alright?"

"Aye Sir," She said keeping her eyes locked on his. He exhaled a cloud of smoke and sighed.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked suddenly and Caddy looked at him in surprise.

"What do you mean?" She asked, obviously thunderstruck by the question.

"You aren't comfortable in the water, obviously and whatever's down there, it killed our men without a second thought. I need someone who's comfortable behind those controls. I thought it might have been you but now...now I'm not so sure."

Caddy stared at him, for a moment she felt sheer joy that she wasn't taking part of this mission, but then she thought about it again and what the Chief had said... 'Ignore it.' Caddy determinedly looked up at the Captain and said.

"Sir, I may not be comfortable in water but as a true soldier I will face the odds and look my fear in the eye without hesitation...I will not let my phobia get in my way of an important mission." Her determination both surprised and impressed the Captain as he chewed at the end of his pipe for a moment before he smiled.

"I like your spirit Evans... that's a special quality." He looked at her thoughtfully for a few seconds, "prove me wrong Sergeant. Impress me tomorrow."

"Of course, Sir." She said and then glanced over at Kendra who had her hands crossed over her chest, smiling slightly.

"You have quite a bit of courage for a woman who hates the water. I'm surprised you're on this submarine." She said truthfully and Caddy arched an eyebrow and smirked.

"With all due respect, I'm not the sort of woman who turns with their tail between their legs at the first sign of danger." She said and Kendra laughed slightly.

"It would seem not. You are a marine, of course."

Caddy turned back to the captain and he nodded for her to go. She saluted and hurried out of the room and headed back towards her room.

Thankfully, when she returned, there were no naked strip go fishers nor was there any sign of her friends who had probably gone off to eat dinner. Caddy sighed and ran her fingers through her black hair, making it stand up on end. The humidity was getting to the unruly waves that made her want to scream on the best of days. It was her mother's hair, of course. Her parents had been good looking people and good looking people seemed to produce good looking children. Caddy wasn't extremely attractive but she wasn't ugly either. She used to be a real skinny kid before she joined the UNSC but that was quickly taken care of when she began training. She got muscled and toned up her body quickly.

When she had been high school, she used to be known 'Scarecrow Caddy' because she was so skinny, wore glasses and her hair was a mass of curls. She hadn't had very many friends because her nose was always buried in a book or she was listening to her ancient music. Even in its heyday, her music had been unpopular. Caddy's high school life wasn't the best time of her life, her hair bigger than her own head, her glasses made her look like a bug and the braces...dear lord that was a nightmare. Now when Caddy looked at herself in the mirror, she hardly recognized herself.

Her mother was more beautiful than she, and she was envious of that. Her mother possessed the perfect raven waves and bright blue eyes. She looked like she walked out of a romance novel and mated with her father, which by the way she possessed more of his looks. Her nose was fine, it wasn't cute or elegant, it was just...normal, average. she had her mother's high cheek bones which helped her look more appealing but not necessarily stunning, with the help of braces, her smile was hell of a lot more attractive.

Her springy, uncontrollable hair was from her dad's side, half the time her father looked like he was struck by lightning. Out of all of her average features, her eyes were the most strikingly attractive as they were a silvery gray. Something her parents never saw before, her mother being on ancient things named her Cadence Athena, because one; Cadence was an unusual and interesting name and two; her eyes gave her the name Athena, after the gray eyed goddess of wisdom and war. Cadence never had goddess-like qualities and in some ways, her mother was disappointed about that.

Her parents had been an extremely unlikely couple. They had met at a costume party through a mutual friend where her father had gone as a pirate and her mother as a princess. After too much tequila and booze, her parents had fornicated and found that they couldn't stand each other. Her mother was a renowned doctor and her father was a mechanic who worked in his own shop in downtown Tallahassee and was a tough talking Tennessee man. Her mother was soft spoken but harsh while her father had encouraged her to follow her dreams.

They had separated before she was born and she spent the first eighteen years of her life with a suitcase and on ships between Euradius II and Earth. However, when Euradius had been attacked, her mother had moved to Earth which made it far easier for Caddy to see her father.

She had picked up piloting from him, of course. He had been a pilot in the UNSC and encouraged his daughter to the same, if she so chose. Her mother had sent her to the most prestigious academies and schools to get her to her full potential. Caddy felt overwhelmed many times from her mother's high expectations. Her father even tried to get custody of her because he sensed her stress, but he lost. Caddy always felt more connected with her Dad, even though she loved her mom, that woman put her through hell in the minds of a teenager. But now, Caddy saw it as nothing compared to the shit she saw in battles. Caddy though worked hard on improving her body and she looked pretty good. She actually could walk around town and have one or two glances her way but she wasn't the kind of woman whom would stop any man in the street to get a mere glimpse at her.

And then her father had died. He had never been a healthy man by any means but she never thought he could have a heart attack. She had been 16 when it happened and her mother had literally taken over her life in a heartbeat. That's when half days at school and premed school happened. Her life went from hell to ultra-hell. She had enlisted a month after his death and their relationship became almost nonexistent. She loved her mom but she hated her for what she had done.

She lay back on her bed and sighed. She closed her eyes and let her mind wander, to her utter horror, she thought about being in the arms of the chief again. She wanted to scream and pull her hair out for having such ridiculous fantasies. Her mind began to ask questions. Was he warm? What does he smell like? Does his lips feel as silky as they look? Cadence pulled a pillow over her head and groaned, her brain was not letting this go, and neither was her hammering heart.


	4. Chapter 4

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**On another note, always looking for songs to go into the playlist I have going on my profile. Please either PM me or Emerald or leave it in the review.**

**And now...a special message from EmeraldxLady! **

**EmeraldxLady: Please, I freaking beg you to review, we would absolutely LOVE it... we don't feel that appreciated if you don't even though we have a THOUSAND hits! Good number...not so good in reviews. So we invite you to review and John may come shirtless to your door...(After Hannah has her fun with him though...she may not let him.) **

**FC: I'm chaining that man to my basement bedroom so she technically lies...**

**EL: Hannah let the poor man go! **

**FC: NEVER!**

**John: I can always break it... **

**Both: true... **

**As always, Caddy is our love child and belongs to us. John and Halo belongs to Bungie Studios and 343 Industries. Thank you for listening to our rant and FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL REVIEW! **

* * *

_Sat on the bottom of the ocean,_  
_A stern and stubborn rock_  
_'Cause your songs remind me of swimming,_  
_But somehow I forgot...  
-Florence + The Machine  
-Swimming  
_

* * *

"Hey champ, wake up," someone murmured, shaking her softly. Caddy opened one eye and groaned.

"Sleep..." She mumbled and turned back over on her cot. She heard Florence sigh irritably and then heard a deadly group of words that she hoped she would never hear again.

"Do you want to become a motivational poster again?"

Instantly, Caddy leapt out of bed and began struggling into a pair of khakis that were lying next to the bunk. "I'm up, I'm up," she muttered as she zipped up the pants and glanced at a smirking Florence, "you're a bitch."

"Blame my mom's side of the family," She joked and threw Caddy a matching jacket, "she and her gangster side of the family."

"And what did you dad's side of the family give you?" Caddy asked, grinning slightly. This had been an ongoing joke between the two of them. Florence was from a mixed race family with a father who was Korean and a mother who was Kenyan. Flo looked at Caddy with a grin.

"My sweet Asian innocence." Flo batted her eyelashes and making duck lips, Caddy snorted "Riiight...I believe you." tugging on her jacket deciding she hated the color.

"You better, come on let go, I have been dying to see the green suited god of yours for hours now!"

Caddy made an innocent face and placed a finger to her lips, "oh, I have a suited god?" she asked quizzically. Flo gave her an 'are you fucking kidding me' stare and suddenly hit Caddy upside the head.

"Master Chief, you dope, when are you going to get it through your head?" she asked almost angrily.

Caddy shrugged "Uh, never."

"You're impossible..." Flo muttered tiredly. Caddy grinned and made a hang loose sign and put it to her ears "Call me, beep me if you wanna reach me!"

Flo looked like she wanted to slap her, but Caddy was saved from the future assault when Rhett arrived, "Okay, sleeping beauty is awake; let's go before I miss Mr. Greek god!"

Caddy stomped her foot like a child and made a face, "Why is everyone so obsessed with him? I mean, he's not even that good looking..."

Flo made that face again and Caddy ran her fingers through her hair, "Are you kidding me? You have the humanities guardian at your feet and you just leave him lying there? You are pathetic, Caddy."

Caddy will never admit that she found John extremely attractive, stubborn as a mule she was but she didn't want just any person, but she sure as hell didn't want a Spartan. Incapable of love and affection, she used Fred as an example. Yet those sweet brown eyes made her want to-

_Hurt someone, yes those brown eyes make me was to hurt someone!_

"I am not pathetic...just... picky." Caddy crossed her arms stubbornly.

Flo rolled her eyes and grabbed Caddy by the wrist, her grip like iron, "Okay Cadence, were gonna get on with our mission...you know if I were you, I would of already taken advantage of the Master Chief."

Caddy wanted to scream but she held it back to a grumble, Rhett though placed a hand on her shoulder as they lead her out of the tiny room that was barely bigger than a closet.

"Maybe she is playing hard to get, you know... making him chase her."

"He'd outrun me." Caddy replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes and pulling her hair back with a rubber band. "Any day he would outrun me. I'm the slowest runner in the world, if you can't remember correctly. Remember how I ALMOST didn't graduate from boot camp because my two miles time was so slow?"

Flo grinned as the three of them walked into the tiny dining hall, "How can I forget?" She fell to her knees and begged mockingly, "please Mr. Drill Sergeant! I will do anything to graduate! Just please, change my time by a few seconds!"

"Screw you," Caddy snorted, putting her finger up in the universal sign. Florence gave her a wink grin and then Rhett gave Caddy a jab in the ribs.

"Your knight in shining armor...or without armor...awaits you Madame." He said and gestured over to where the giant Spartan was sitting alone at a table. True to Rhett's words, John was out of his armor, choosing instead to wear a black muscle tee shirt with the khakis everyone was forced to wear.

Caddy could not deny that he was attractive. His muscles nearly bulged out of that shirt and even though he was riddled with scars, she could still see the white skin beneath. Caddy swallowed something hard in her throat as Rhett gave her a little push by smacking her butt, causing her to make a squeaking sound and walk forward. Caddy decided to take the long way by grabbing a cup of coffee. She took her time before she finally made it to the table, almost everyone watched while still talking, anxious to see what would happen. John had not looked up but Caddy had a gut feeling that he was aware of her presence. Caddy inhaled and on her exhale, she forced out a "May I join you?"

"Yes." John replied, now looking up at her, Caddy nodded and sat down ungracefully, causing the table to shake. Caddy sipped her coffee; she looked down at it in surprise.

"Not bad..." she said softly, John nodded but not saying anything. Caddy felt that it might be almost impossible to actually have a conversation with him. Caddy nervously cleared her throat and looked in the direction of her friends, they were intently watching as if they were watching a movie.

"So..." She began, trying to keep it on the light ground that their path took at that very moment, "How are you?"

"I can't complain. I'm living, breathing, about to go on a mission." He took his own drink of coffee and Caddy laughed suddenly. "What?" He asked, putting the coffee cup down.

"Nothing, it's just that...it feels like ages ago when I threw that pea into your coffee." She admitted and a ghost of a smile flickered across John's lips. Was it possible she was getting to him?

However, as soon as the smile had come, it was gone again. Caddy looked down nervously at her hands and then was spared the humility of saying something else stupid.

"How are you doing today?" He asked softly and Caddy's eyes met his for a split second. When she had been in high school, she had taken a semester of drama before deciding that she was definitely not a dramatic person. In the class, they had gone deeply into the fact that eye contact is the mother of all awkward moments. This statement was beyond true with John.

When she did not answer, he repeated the question, "how are you doing with today with the launch?"

Caddy mentally kicked herself for being so stupid and then responded, "I'm super nervous, feel like I'm about to throw up and my palms are sweating like hell but I think I'm alright." She admitted, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. John gave her a short, curt nod and then stood up.

"Remember what I told you yesterday." He instructed her, "ignore it. You're a good pilot, Evans. You'll get us through just fine." With that, he turned, gave her a nod and then turned on his heel, probably to go prepare for launch. She wondered if he was going to wear his armor but quickly thought otherwise.

He would weigh the Water Bear down if he did that. More likely he would probably stow it away in the compartments and then be a gunner. Caddy sighed, her face muscles relaxed and she felt her stomach grew weak. Standing up, she had a feeling that it may be a good time to prepare but she remembered the ghostly smile and made no move to get up, what if she WAS getting to him?

_Ha, wishful thinking Caddy. _She sipped her coffee, and then stood up, deciding it was time to join her friends before it was too late. Flo spoke up first, her eyes big and her smile nearly blinded Caddy,

"Sooo...how did it go?" she slightly cooed, she batted her eyes. Caddy snorted, this time sitting down more gracefully.

"Super, got real deep with each other," she said sarcastically. Rhett rolled his eyes "You're just like boot camp age, socially awkward and a smart ass."

"Thanks for your moral support guys, really appreciate it."

"Come on you turd! You need some food in you," Flo urged, shoving a plate of eggs in her face before Caddy contorted that same face into a look of disgust and waved the eggs away.

"I've decided I'm becoming a vegan," she stated and this got a roar of laughter from both Flo and Rhett.

"You? A vegan? Are you serious?" Florence gasped, wiping tears from her eyes, "You grew up in Tennessee. You have meat fat flowing through your veins!"

"Fine then, I'm just not hungry," She sniffed and then shoved the plate back to Flo, "I have to stay alert and focused and eggs will just slow me down."  
Rhett and Florence glanced at each other and shrugged, "Suit yourself sweetie," Rhett said and took a big bite of eggy goodness that made Caddy's stomach roll like the deck of a ship. She really wasn't hungry and every time she thought of her mission, her stomach was in the vice-like grip of a python. Each breath she took, her stomach tightened up until she couldn't even drink her coffee.

"Hey, I think I'm gonna go down to the..."

"ATTENTION ALL PERSONNEL, PILOTS AND CREW NEED TO REPORT TO THE LAUNCH BAY ASAP. WE ARE BOARDING NOW. THANK YOU." The intercom went dead and the two of them looked at each other and then over at Caddy who had inexplicably gone ashy in the face and coffee spilled over the cup as her hand shook.

"Caddy...?"

_Ignore it, _He had said and that's exactly what Caddy wanted to do. So, she slowly stood up, placed her hands on her hips and gave what she hoped would be an aura of confidence. "I'm ready to do this."

Caddy stood up and with new determination, she walked out of the mess hall, though her heart raced and palms were sweaty. She knew that she to get over it before she changed her mind.

Caddy had to change out of her other clothes and into a skin tight uniform, she thanked herself happily for having a good figure to actually look good in this uniform no matter how uncomfortable it felt to her. It was a shiny black that would blind someone in direct light, though at first she was freezing, after a few minutes she warmed up and was more comfortable than before. She pulled on the gloves, she had a perfect range of motion with her fingers. The suit covered every part of her body after she pulled on the boots except for her fingers and head. The suit had made her breasts look amazing enough, but they were on the smaller side but it didn't really matter. Pulling her unruly hair into a tight bun, she looked down at herself and realized her mother would have a fit if she saw her wearing this. She wanted to laugh at that thought but instead she rolled her shoulders, testing out how much range of motion she had. it was perfect; it was as if she were naked.

"Wow!" Rhett's voice startled her from her thoughts, he was wearing the same suit, though designed for a man, and luckily, his junk wasn't obviously showing. He let out a low whistle and smiled in a perverted way.

"I almost turned straight...but now I'm back." Rhett winked and Caddy laughed, Flo arrived, wearing the same suit, her breasts looked fantastic and were bigger than Caddy's.

Flo grinned as she pulled on her gloves "Now the Chief cannot resist you." she cooed, Caddy rolled her eyes.

"Focus people, were going on a mission where we might just die...now is not the time to be perverted." she tried to achieve a serious tone, it was nearly impossible with them. Rhett stuck his tongue out at her and then his eyes turned to Flo.

"HellOOOO beautiful!" He whistled and then turned back to Caddy, "Well, if you two continue to wear those suits, I'll be straight in no time!"

Flo slugged him in the shoulder and then crossed her arms over her chest, "Fat chance we would ever let you be straight!"

Rhett grinned stupidly, "That's right. You need a gay best friend, don't you?"

"Damn straight!"

The three of them walked into the launching bay and someone quickly had Caddy by the shoulder and was steering her towards the dreaded Water Bear.

"We're late leaving," Samuels gruff voice told her and she was quickly outfitted in a helmet with a COM link and a target system. It was pulled down over her eyes but the dark tinted glasses made her head spin. She was then lead away from the Water Bear and stood next to Samuels who wore the same suit and helmet that marked him as a pilot. About ten more were peppered through the small crowd of about 75 people. Captain Vaughn began talking about the great duty they were providing and that sort of stuff and Caddy tried hard to listen except at that moment, she caught sight of John in his own suit.

Her heart nearly dropped to her stomach. Every contour, every curve of his body was visible under that glorious, glorious suit. His brown hair stuck up in deliciously delightful angles that made Caddy's heart beat ever so quickly. Her eyes dipped lower for a split second and felt a blush crawling up her cheeks. Unlike Rhett, his...manly bits, for lack of a better term, tried to burst the confines of his suit. Caddy tried to keep the lovely images of the naked Chief out of her head but it was all in vain.

"You are dismissed to your pods," Vaughn said and the crews and pilots quickly moved over towards their desired pods. Caddy made the slow, treacherous journey over to her own Water Bear but found something was completely different about the first time she had seen it. Someone had spray-painted _The Athena Evans_ on the side.

She felt her heart swell with pride as she saw her beautiful machine with her middle and last name painted on it. Samuels came up behind her and placed a meaty paw on her shoulder. Like the Master Chief, he was built and looked amazing in the suit.

"It's customary for the Water Bear to be named after the middle and last name of their pilot," He said, pointing towards his own ship that read _The Quincy Samuels. _Caddy looked at her own Water Bear and had a delighted grin on her face. She looked back at him and he smiled at her.

"That name suits you..." he said softly before he moved around her and swung his legs into his machine, boarding his Water Bear. Caddy excitedly boarded hers and took her seat at the front, looking at all of the controls, she sighed at the fact at how simple they were.

"Wow, what a luck that we get to be with the best pilot," Rhett appeared from behind, hearing his voice over the COM due to the helmets, Caddy smiled happily that her two friends were with her.

"I'll make it exciting for the both of you." She gave him a thumbs up before he took his seat. Flo buckled herself in "Ready when you are, Missy."

Two more boarded and took their places, Caddy then became serious, her pilot instincts kicked as she talked into the COM "_The Athena Evans_ is good to go sir, give me the signal when ready."

There was a pause until the Captain received the green light from the other Water Bears. "Green light for all Water Bears. Get ready for impact in 5...4...3...2...1..."

SLAM! The impact of the water shocked some sense into Caddy as the machine was dropped into the cold, unforgiving sea. After getting her bearings, she quickly got the hang of driving the Water Bear down into the belly of the ship and then out into the darkness that surrounded them.

The lights came on automatically and she could see the other Water Bears making their ways towards an opening in a mountainous rock that drew them in slowly. Now Caddy was thankful for the helmet. With it, she could see everything because it throbbed with a green color. She now realized why the Water Bears were so unique. They were like bats and dolphins, using echolocation to see things. The other Water Bears showed up as red instead of the green that was fish and rocks.

"Cool beans," She mumbled and throttled the engines forward towards the opening. She then noticed that something that had been green wasn't there anymore. She glanced out of the corner of her eye at what might have been a rock but was now gone.

"Did anyone else see something in their helmets?" Samuels's voice cut through and Caddy quickly responded.

"Yeah. There was something over by that outcropping of rocks." She told him and she heard another pilot's voice through the COM link.

"I think you guys are tripping," He said, "I didn't see anything and..."

"Hang on..." Caddy said suddenly, "I think I see something moving up towards me..." Her heartbeat quickened and her palms began to sweat at the fear of something coming to get her. Suddenly, something reared its ugly head and Caddy gave a scream of surprise and horror.

"OHMIGAWD!" She screamed into her COM link.

"Sergeant Evans! Are you alright?" Samuels demanded in horror as he heard Caddy hyperventilate.

"There...is...a giant...ass...fish..." She said through deep breaths and the line went dead for a few seconds. Rhett and Flo heard a noise that sounded like a deep almost sinister growling, there was an eerie silence before Rhett spoke up.

"What the hell was that?" he asked, his tone low and slightly shaky, Caddy looked around, her eyes squinting as if to see better.

"I don't know you guys...something is out there..."

"I'm getting the creeps," Flo replied, Caddy felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise as she heard Samuels say "Must be a fish or something..."

"I guess...maybe its my imagination, the pressure playing mind tricks or something." Caddy laughed nervously.

"Ignore it" John cut in, causing Caddy to relax and relish happily at the sound of his voice. She shook her head, not letting her emotions take over.

"Hey, I think I just say something, it looks like a-OH MY GOD!" the new voice screamed, there was a crunching noise and the beeping noise alarmed Caddy of danger, Caddy looked at the radar, something was coming towards her and fast from behind, in her helmet, the camera placed at the back of the Water Bear and she saw what was coming at her. What looked like to be a crab and octopus hybrid from the pictures was nothing like it at all, it was something far more sinister than that, with lobster pinchers and a long serpentine body. Caddy though didn't waste any time as she screamed, "Holy shit, its after us!" Going at top speed to avoid the pinchers of death. Getting another good look, she realized it wasn't organic looking, to her it looked more like a machine.

The Water Bear's super heated plasma cannons began firing, not even denting the creature's plating.

"This isn't working!" Caddy yelled to her crew. She turned on her COMlink and screamed, "ALL PILOTS! MOVE TOWARDS THE MOUNTAIN!"

The race towards the mountain had begun. Bubbles flew as the machines sprinted towards the mouth of the cave. Blooms of light filled her eyes as the claws of the monster sliced through a Water Bear that hadn't been able to escape.

"NO!" Samuels yelled as they quickly made their way towards the mouth of the cave. Caddy gunned the engine and flew into the cave a few seconds behind the others. However, to their utter disdain, the monster, the kraken followed in their wake, taking a second Water Bear in the mouth of the cave.

"Son of a bitch!" Caddy swore as she turned to fight the monster. Rhett screamed at her but she didn't listen as fired a plasma beam, it hit it in the face, a lucky shot if only Caddy realized that she only pissed it off. It charged at her at blinding speed, Caddy realized that she only had one shot at this if she didn't take the chance.

"Cadence Athena Evans, what are you doing!" Flo screamed in pure terror. Caddy waited, her eyes narrowed as she finally yelled "Hang on!" and pressing the red button, a rock shot through the water, hitting it head on and exploding on contact. Another rocket hit the creature in the side, a blood curdling screech echoed through the water.

"You trying to kill yourself?" John asked, but his voice remained calm as Caddy realized he was the one who shot at the creature.

"Did you shoot the second rocket?" she asked, another rocket from a different angle hit it on the other side, causing it to scream again.

"Not that one," he replied.

"Dammit Evans!" Samuels barked, "You were almost dinner if not for the rocket!"

The spunky Marine blew out a puff of air and slowly pried her fingers off the controllers.

"Well, we were lucky that we had that rocket," She said, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice, "Beyond lucky."

"No shit, Sherlock," Flo muttered sarcastically as Samuels' voice filled her ear.

"Okay...no more heroism for you Caddy," He said and a small smirk played on the thin lips of the ballsey pilot.

"Won't happen again, Sir." She promised as Samuels' Water Bear puttered through the cave. The other six followed behind, scanning the water for any other disturbances. Rhett shone his light on the wall and whistled long and low.

"Did anybody else see these?" He asked and Caddy took her eyes from the controls to look at the strange mosaics that depicted scenes of battle, harvest and other events. People...or what she assumed to be people, participated in different activities.

"Creepy," She muttered, "It's like a tomb or something."

"Looks like an archaeologist wet dream to me." Flo snorted sarcastically. Caddy let out a stifled chuckle and rolled her eyes. Ah, Flo always with the sassy remarks.

"Keep sharp, there might be more." John said through the COM link.

"Will you save us oh heavenly savior?" Rhett crooned with stars in his eyes.

Samuels grunted, "Shut up, Butler."

"Yes Sir," he snickered and Caddy rolled her eyes, adjusting her COM link.

"I think I see a light and the end of this godforsaken tunnel," one of her crew members said and she glanced down the tunnel to see that he was indeed correct. Along with the lights that bounced off the walls, a deep blue color was filtering at the end of the corridor.

"Oh my glob," Rhett gasped, his eyes widening and then squinting toward the light, "Are we dead?"

Florence rolled her eyes and snorted, "You are such a moron. Of course we're not dead we're just...Caddy what the hell is it?"

"Why are you asking me this? I don't have any more of an idea than you do."

Suddenly, every gage in the Water Bear went off, creating a series of adjusted dials and what not.

"What the fuck!" she angrily swore, trying to figure out what was going on. "The water temperature went from freezing my ass off to burning my ass."

"Tropical, almost." Samuels commented, "The water currents are mixing together and that's why there's that current that's coming out of the tunnel. But why the hell is it so warm? This isn't right! We're 12,000 feet underwater and the water should be below freezing!"

"But...as the temperature gauge clearly states, we are sitting at about 67 degrees Fahrenheit!" Caddy argued and she heard Samuels sigh.

"Damned if I know, kiddo." He said as they cleared the tunnel and what they saw took Caddy's breath away. Crystal clear, tropical-esque water. The kind you would only see in pictures, filled with different types of fish you only saw in old movie, The whole cave was so blue!

"Blue is not my favorite color but this is nice..." Rhett breathed, Flo let out an irritated sigh. Caddy looked around, trying to find the source of why the water was so blue.

"It must be a light source" John commented nonchalantly. Caddy bit her tongue to keep from saying something stupid, but that comment was obvious. Flo however, with a tongue like steel said "Nooo... I didn't think of that!" Sarcasm dripped from words and Caddy face palmed her helmet.

"Really, Really Flo?" Caddy turned to look at her, John though let out a dry chuckle that surprised everyone on the _Athena Evans_.

"On the topic at hand, is anyone freaked out by the fact that there are buildings in this cave?" Samuels demanded.

"Uh, have you seen the Titanic?" Rhett replied.

"Uh, that movie is five hundred years old." Caddy shot in, Rhett made an unattractive snort and flipped her off. "You are such a girl"

"Happy, the **appropriate** term is happy," Rhett said matter-of-factly as Caddy whistled the famous tune from _West Side Story._

"Shut up Children," John said in a monotone voice, "We need to concentrate on the mission at hand."

"Whoa, Kitty's got claws!" Caddy teased but got no response from the Spartan.

"Holy Mother Mary, what the fuck?" a new voice cut in, though his Water Bear was nowhere in sight.

"Talk to me Connors!" Samuel said urgently, but only received static instead.

"What just happened?" Caddy asked and Samuels sighed, "Where did he go?"

"Dammit...I have no idea," he said as Caddy steered the Water Bear where he was going. Suddenly, a patch of water even bluer than what was in the cave came into view and Caddy's eyes went wide.

"What in the name of all things bright and beautiful is that?" She demanded and she heard Samuels calling back to Vaughn.

"Captain, we just found...something. I don't know what it is but..." Samuels gasped as his Water Bear began to be pulled into the circle of blue water.

"What did you say Samuels? You're breaking up..." The Captain's voice drifted away into static.

"Mayday! Mayday! We need help! Help! SOS!" Samuels yelled as he drifted into the blue circle and disappeared.

"SAMUELS! SAMUELS! COME IN SAMUELS!" Caddy screamed but had no response. She heard the Captain's static and found her own COMlink jammed with static and her own instruments were failing her. "Shit!"

"Caddy! We're losing power!" Rhett yelped and she tried to turn away from the circle of blue that dominated her vision.

"What's going on?" Flo cried, trying to straighten out her instruments.

"I don't know but we're getting pulled in! I'm gonna try and..." But her words failed her because with no time left, they crossed through the looking glass and disappeared from the world that they had known. The other Water Bears tried to find them but found only the circle of light that in turn also turned their currents against the pilots and finally they too were gone, leaving only a drowned city in their wake.

* * *

The Captain stared at the screen, then looked at Kendra who looked up at him "we lost their signal... what do we do now sir?"

The Captain had a very grim look on his face before he balled his hands into a fist, he thought for a moment before he said "Call Admiral Stevenson... we need all the back up we can get."

"Right Away Sir," she made the call.

* * *

"Great, more water!" Caddy yelled, looking around as she saw coral reefs, fish, another weird aquatic things but Flo managed to reply "We are in an ocean, dear."

"I know! and damned if I'm ever in another one!" Caddy replied, slightly hyperventilating.

"According to my calculations, we are in three hundred feet of water." Samuels cut in, Caddy banged her forehead on the controls, causing them to beep.

"Why...why does this always happen to me?" she moaned, her voice muffled by the instruments.

"Lets surface and see what's going on." John ordered and Caddy was more than eager to surface as she molested the controls and was the first Water bear to surface. Sunlight made everyone squint as they suddenly saw the clear blue surface of a tropical ocean. Rhett opened the top hatch and was the first to peek out.

"Whoa, did we go back in time!" Rhett squeaked. Flo pushed her way through and looked around. "Umm...Caddy, you need to see this."

Caddy inhaled, unbuckled and made her way to the hatch and peeked out, to her surprise, it was a tropical paradise, not far off, she could see the hazy silhouette of a beach. She looked at the other Water Bears that were beginning to surface and then back at the beach.

"Is it my imagination or are there buildings on that beach?" Florence asked in a soft voice and Caddy opened her hand to signal her to hand her the binoculars. Flo handed them over as the other crewmembers scrambled to see the beach.

Caddy pulled off her helmet and placed the binoculars to her eyes. There, on the beach, looking right at her with binoculars unlike anything she had ever seen, was someone else and he too was watching her!

"What do you see?" Rhett asked nervously as Caddy brought the binoculars down to lay at her side.

"Guys, I hate to tell you this but I don't think we're on Earth anymore."

* * *

**You want faster updates? You'd better give the little button down below a little love. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry about the delay, we both had live being thrown at us from every which angle! **  
**Sadly enough, this was not done on the same machine but that doesn't mean there's not just as much love in it for you yahoos. Anyway, again, as always, I'd love to thank my crazy co-writer for being insane enough to do this with me. Go give her some love OR ELSE. **

**Reviews, as always are appreciated. It keeps the hamsters in our brains running on their wheels. I know that I speak for both of us when I say thank you for all your wonderful words of wisdom, encouragement, and even criticism because that's how we grow. Thanks to everyone who's taken time from their day or night to help us on the road to finishing this sucker.  
So, due to the fact that we have too many inside jokes now, I give you the 5th installment...Enjoy.**

**Caddy © EmeraldxLady, Flamboyant Cuttlefish**

**Halo © 343 Industries, Bungie.**

* * *

"What do you mean we're not on Earth anymore?" Rhett demanded and Caddy look down at her crew and they could see her ashen face.

"I mean that that...thing on the shore is NOT a human being." She said, her voice trembling slightly. Flo shoved her way to the front of the Water Bear and grabbed the binoculars from Caddy's hands.

"Let me see that thing..." She mumbled, shoving her eyes into the eyepiece. After a few moments of silence, she slowly allowed the glass to drop to her side. "Holy hell...those things are DEFINITELY not human."

In turn, the others took their turn at the binoculars and each one left in stunned silence. The worst part was that they knew that they were there and it was the thing that terrified Caddy the most.

"W.B. Athena, calling The Athena. Caddy! Where the hell are you?" Samuel's voice crackled to life in her COMLink and Caddy touched the side of her helmet.

"I'm here. Talk to me Samuels," she said as the pilot sighed and she imagined him looking out over the scene. She could see that he had pulled up his Water Bear right next to hers and she glanced over to see him looking at the humanoid through his own set of binoculars. "Do you have any idea what that is?"

"None in the slightest," Samuels admitted and Caddy groaned and stepped down into the interior of the tiny sub.

"Well that doesn't help us at all," she mumbled and sat down in her chair, rubbing her face underneath her helmet. "So, what's the game plan?"

He hesitated which caused Caddy to roll her eyes involuntarily, "alright then, why don't we go to the fucking beach and say hello?"

"Because they might be hostile." Samuels retorted, good point but Caddy felt almost desperate to go onto the shore to get a closer look at the...being that was looking right back at her.

"What if they're not?" she replied, there was a pause before he spoke again.

"I'll give you a hundred dollars..."

"Deal" she straightened, money was always good, military salary wasn't the greatest but a little extra cash always good. She looked back to the beach to see if her little hostile had moved at all and indeed it had. It actually seemed to be motioning its friends to come peer through the binoculars it held, "Oh glory. We're all doomed," She muttered sarcastically before Samuels made the command to ready all weapons. Caddy wanted to smack him in the mouth but Flo, already way ahead of her said.

"Wow, okay, paranoid much?" She said sarcastically and Caddy had to laugh at where Samuels told her to stick it. However, before they could do anything else, they heard a voice float over the water like a volleyball on a hot summer afternoon.

"Hello! We come in peace!"

"Wonderful. We know they're alright if they speak English," Rhett muttered and Caddy pinched him on the arm which got a rather large howl from her friend.

"Do you think they're being serious?" Samuels asked through their COMlinks and Caddy looked back at the beach.

"Well, we don't have anything to lose if we approach them," She admitted coyly and Rhett groaned.

"Only our lives, smart one." He muttered and Caddy gave him another pinch that resulted in another howl.

"In my experience with people saying they come in peace, I find that usually, they're pretty truthful about it," One of the people in Caddy's sub said and then John's glorious voice filled her ear.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," He said and his voice sent shivers up her spine.

"What do you mean?" Caddy asked, wrapping a loose strand of hair around her finger coyly.

"What if they just want to lure us in and then take us out easily?" He asked and Rhett interjected.

"How can they take us by surprise if we're expecting them? Besides, we have a Spartan on our side so we can't possibly lose!" He pointed out and John sighed.

"Well, if that's their city, there will be a lot more of them then there are of us and I have lost before..."

Caddy was surprised to hear him say this. It wasn't every day a Spartan admitted that he had lost in something. Just made him that more attractive in her eyes. He wasn't perfect and neither was she.

"Really!" Rhett replied, but that was the last they all heard from John for the next few moments as they all turned to see the rather silent boat that flew across the water was making its way over towards the Water Bears.

As the boat neared, Caddy could see clearly that the creatures on the boat weren't exactly human. They were humanoid but most of the similarities ended there. The person who looked at the Water Bears and smiled politely had a face that could be literally considered god-like. Starch white hair hung down his back in a glossy curtain and his skin was tanned all around.

The man's body was long and very thin which made his starched white pants and tunic hang off of him in an odd way. His face was a thing of beauty, without a scratch or imperfection, like he had been chiseled from wood.

When the man-like alien opened his mouth as if to speak "Welcome, we were not expecting more..." his voice was musical, seductive and polite, however, Caddy felt that his voice was like screeching metal compared to John's.

"More?" Samuels shouted, the humanoid chuckled.

"We have some others back on land, they are very much pleased with the accommodations we have provided for them," he said softly and Caddy noticed he even had a big of an accent that combined Greek with Australian. If she hadn't been so enamored with John, she would have found this rather attractive. The aura around the man, although she only saw him through the glass, was ageless and spoke of promise and primal pleasure when he looked at the human females.

"Where are we?" Samuels asked and the man turned his liquid fire eyes to Samuel's Water Bear.

"Haven't you guessed, my dear friend? You've found what many seek in your time. Welcome...to Atlantis."

"You have got to be joking." Caddy spoke, her face paled and her jaw dropped. Many explorers, archaeologist and historians have spent their entire lives searching for this place, only to be under the ocean_. I always had heard the stories of it being a drowned city but...then where were we? I could still see the sky and trees and buildings. What had been the place that we had just come from? _She thought in surprise.

"What is the thing in the cave, then?" John voiced her question and the man flicked his eyes to where John would probably be standing.

"I apologize if our...ah...pet gave you some troubles..."

"Troubles? TROUBLES? Your so called "pet" killed 15 fucking people and you're standing there as if you're talking about the fucking weather!" Caddy spat angrily and his eyes turned to her and for the first time, she could see his eyes clearly. When she had looked at them from a distance, they had seemed to be molten fire but now, they seemed to sparkle with gold.

"My, what a rebellious, fiery spirit you possess my dear. It almost rivals your beauty." He said in an almost seductive tone of voice and she crossed her arms over her chest to feel less vulnerable.

"Who are you?" Samuels cut in, shooting a glare at Caddy, the man chuckled again, "Forgive me, my name is Leoion Mis'callier, I am His Majesty's advisor."

_ A monarchy government,_ I thought that idea died a long time ago... Caddy mused to herself but then returned her attention to Leoion who glanced over at her. His gaze made her feel naked and vulnerable, as if he was looking into the very core of her.

"I can assure you that we are a peaceful race, my friend," he assured Samuels. Caddy wished she could see his face but knew that at the moment, that would be impossible. "Come to Atlantis! Drink and dine with us! We will be your family! Our king is especially interested in your culture...We have heard so little but want to learn so much!"

Caddy could hear him hesitating through her COMlink before she heard the rev of his Water Bear's engine.

"Suit up, Chief. We've got a new objective."

"Sir?"

Samuels sighed and Leoion gave him a smile, "Operation try and be friendly."

"Good, we will escort your ships to the shore," he shouted something in a strange, beautiful language to the shore. Caddy started up her Water Bear and began to shout at her crew as she slipped her helmet down over her eyes again.

"Rhett! Batten down the hatch! Florence! Watch where the other Water Bears are going. Get a map up and running!

True to her fingers, Florence had a map up in the lower left hand corner of Caddy's helmet and she gunned the engine, going under. The dock was about 500 feet away, give or take a couple dozen feet and the ride only took about thirty seconds. However, to go anywhere, the Water Bears needed to be completely submerged. The only annoying thing was parking, but soon that was settled after Caddy caused a dent in another Water Bear. Hearing a lecture from Samuels, Caddy finally parked, rushed off the dock and onto the sand, laughing for joy and singing about how much she loved the earth.

Whatever gods live in this city, I want to thank them for not allowing me to drown in some godforsaken cave. Caddy thought, a little bounce in her step as she moved across the dock.

However, the dock was the thing she was least worried about. Down towards the city, there were stairs and everywhere she looked a tall, beautiful creature was selling some exotic fruit that she had never seen before. Amazingly colored animals like monkeys and birds fluttered around, not the least bit frightened of their presence.

It was strange to see them all acting so...well...normal. Caddy glance at the teams getting out of their Water Bears, now about 35 of them and each seemed to be taking in just a bit of this amazing city. Whitewashed walls clung to the sky blue of the water that lapped gently against the sides of the building. Emerald colored vines were dripping with ruby red fruits and teeming with insect life. The buildings graced the skies and statues of beautiful people like the Atlanteans decorated even the dock areas. The city looked to be huge and even then the team couldn't see the whole thing due to the fact that the land seemed to slope upward.

"Beautiful..." Caddy whispered softly, she looked around at the exotic wild life; everything about this place was perfect. As they journeyed deeper, they were suddenly greeted by the most beautiful humanoid women Caddy ever laid eyes on. They danced in their silky, flowing dresses, they were lovely gold jewelry around their necks, arms and ankles, and some wore shorter dresses to show off the jewelry that wrapped around their slender thighs. Beautiful song broke out as they welcomed the newcomers, every alien on this land were taller than everyone else besides chief, and he met the height of the average male of this foreign land. Samuels avoided the flirtatious gazes of the women; Rhett almost drooled over the beautiful men that greeted them with strong handshakes.

"Good afternoon, children of our great ancestors," One of the men said, bowing deeply. If it was possible, he was even more handsome than the man who had greeted them on the boat. "Welcome to our beautiful city of Atlantis. There are the children of the Court," he said, motioning to the dancers and the men in their tunics. Caddy noticed that the younger men were slightly more beefy than the older man who they had first seen.

"These are all the king's children?" Samuel asked in amazement and the man laughed, a noise that sounded like bells.

"Of course not brother, these are the children of the City Leaders, myself included. I am Rastayn Mis'callier, the son of the king's advisor."

"Wacky," Caddy murmured and Raystayn's eyes looked towards the Master Chief.

"I was not aware that you were bringing weapons into our city, my friends. We are a completely peaceful city. We have never attacked anyone and the fact that we have never done so is the reason we're on the bottom of the ocean."

Caddy opened her mouth to ask more questions but Samuels beat her to the chase, "No, HE is not a weapon. He's one of us."

Raystayn's golden eyes danced in the light that illuminated through the leafy canopy overhead, "Of course he is." He cleared his throat and all the dancers lined up, still giggling softly to themselves. "Please take our guests to the presence of our king. I am sure he is interested in meeting them as we once were."

The girls nodded and then lined up, gliding in perfect synchronization. The party could do nothing but look at each other and follow the line of beautiful Aphrodites who sashayed through the alleyways and streets.

"That's almost too much for me and I'm a chick," Flo muttered in Caddy's ear and she looked back at her friend and grinned, shaking her head in agreement. She glanced over at John's armor clad body and wondered what he thought of the scantily dressed dancers. If she ever had her way with the silent warrior, (which she doubted would ever happen but she could dream) she would have to take a page out of the seductive dancers' book.

"Son of a..." Samuels muttered under his breath as they moved slowly through the city. Caddy imagined that the city was what Ancient Greece had looked like before it had become ruins. It was like a page out of history all placed onto a 3D playing field for them to look at. It was pretty fan-fucking-tastic, she had to admit and she wasn't one for putting the F bomb in the middle of words.

"I have to get me one of those sexy men.." Rhett whispered, Caddy held back a laugh but she gave him a playful glare "What about that cute private on the sub?"

"Still want him too...a threesome...yummy..." he trailed off, Flo nudged Rhett aggressively.

"Don't include Chief in the equation, Caddy might just kill you."

Rhett whimpered, giving Caddy the baby face but Caddy, thinking about Rhett, the cute private, one of these gorgeous aliens and Chief... a wet dream... with a murderous twist.

"I don't care," she lied, "just...videotape it for me."

Rhett winked, "you know I would, it would be my most prized possession."

"Sicko," Flo and Caddy whispered in unison.

"Oh sue me," Rhett smirked as a pair of giant double doors opened and revealed an open courtyard that held ponds, birds, trees and a group of about five or six loveseats made of what looked to be silk at the other end of the room. Cushions littered the room and the scent of jasmine and other exotic perfumes drifted through the air.

Lounging on the couch were three people. The first literally glowed with power and Caddy instantly knew that this was the king. He wore robes of deep purple and gold and had hair the color of a raven's wing.

The second was a woman that was so beautiful, it almost hurt Caddy to look at her. Except unlike the other woman who was lounging on another couch, she radiated warm, motherly vibes. Caddy liked her instantly. She, like the man who had first seen them had white hair that cascaded down her back in a perfect white sheet like a frozen waterfall. She smiled kindly at the group and then looked towards the final person sitting on the loveseat.

This woman was the exact opposite of what Caddy assumed to be the queen. Her eyes told Caddy all she would ever need to know about her character and she didn't like her one bit. The princess, like her father, had jet black hair that fell over her shoulder and was woven with gold into a crown-like braid. Her skin was the color of skim milk and her eyes glowed against her skin. She was, to put it gently, the most beautiful, dangerous woman that Caddy ever seen...her gut, which never lied told her that this woman was a danger, a threat, though Caddy did not voice her concerns. The crowned woman stood, her graceful fluidity captured the gazes of every human man as her skimpy outfit showed off her long, beautiful legs. Caddy had nice legs, but those were freakishly beautiful. she smiled, causing an air of silence.

"Welcome, it is a great honor to meet the famous human race..." her voice trailed through the air, as if Aphrodite were speaking. Caddy saw the star struck eyes of every male, even Rhett, however, it bothered her that she couldn't see John's face or reaction.

"My name is Illyiaahn... Princess of Atlantis...please, sit and relax." she clapped her hands as beautiful women walked out from nowhere with trays of food and drink.

"Don't need to tell me twice, pretty lady!" Rhett said before sitting down at one of the places that had been provided. A beautiful woman tried to feed him something that looked like an apple but he batted her hand away, "I don't need a gorgeous woman! Give me a beautiful man!"

Caddy rolled her eyes but found herself sitting next to the woman who appeared to be the queen. Unlike her daughter, she had strands of bronze attached to rubies that made an intricate headpiece atop her head. She smiled at Caddy and then nodded towards something that looked like pasta.

"Eat, my dear." She said softly and Caddy warily took some of the food placed before her. The pasta, she found was pretty much the best damn pasta she had ever tasted in her life. As she ate, drinks were passed around. Caddy pulled one up to her lips but the queen's slender hand was over the mouth of the drink before Caddy could even sip one mouthful, "It's not wise to drink the liquor of the orchard." She snapped her fingers and a goblet of water followed.

"Thank you, I think," Caddy said as she drank her water. "Tell me, Your Majesty..."

She smiled kindly and waved her hand, "Please call me Athriaa, my child. And what is your name?"

Caddy slurped up another noodle and then spoke, "Cadence Evans. But you can call me Caddy."

Athriaa looked at her for a moment then smiled "you look like Minerva, the beloved roman goddess of wisdom and war... your hair and eyes are similar to her"

Caddy laughed "Funny that you mention it, my middle name is alternate to that."

"Is that so... We Atlanteans are extremely familiar with roman and Greek mythology; in fact many myths came from our stories."

Caddy, in the midst of slurring up pasta, stared at the Queen, but she blushed and swallowed her food. "uh..wow... um...that's new."

The queen laughed, it was the kind of laugh her own mother rarely released, in a way...the queen was the alternate side of her mother, something she desired.

"I know that this is quite strange to you, coming to our world..." She began but Caddy held up her hand.

"Okay, you can stop there. First of all, where exactly is Atlantis?" She asked slowly and Athriaa laughed gently.

"You may consider it as...house arrest."

"House arrest? What do you mean house arrest?"

Athriaa sighed and looked away sadly, "Oh my child. We are children that belong to a great and ancient race called The Forerunners. Long ago, we tried to defy what they had done before and after the race known as the Flood attacked our world. We tried to live a world with you but alas, we could not. As punishment, your planet became a portal and our city on earth was swallowed up by the sea. A handful of survivors including my mother escaped to our world you see today and here we stand, on this world."

"That's a terrible story," Caddy said, gnawing on something that looked like a chicken leg. "Terrible for everyone involved. How come...HEY!"

It was at that moment that Caddy looked over and saw that the Chief had indeed taken off his helmet and was talking to the princess who was obviously making a move on John. She looked back towards the queen and the queen looked on at her daughter in complete and utter distaste.

"I'm sorry about my daughter. She is a vain, terrible creature who wants nothing more than her father's throne." She explained, obviously disgusted by her daughter's actions.

"Whatever! That doesn't have anything to do with the fact that she's got her hands all over John!" Caddy snapped and nearly jumped out of her chair but the queen held her down.

"Calm down Caddy, you will not catch many flies using that attitude."

"I don't want to catch flies...I want her to get her filthy paws of the Chief!" She grunted but sat down. Everyone stared at her, she didn't bother, she rested her cheek in her hand and grumbled angrily. Not bothering to look at John, she felt too angry to even care about her outburst.

"Cadence…" the queen said gently, however Caddy didn't, but she relaxed under the queen's tender touch.

"Damn woman, what's wrong with you?" Flo asked unsympathetically, "she only made a move on him, if you haven't noticed; John wasn't making a move back."

"Shut up Florence."

"I mean seriously! He's a machine!"

"I said, shut your face Florence!"

Florence looked like was going to say something else but one look from Caddy shut her up for good. The king finally stood at the head of the table and raised his glass, "To new friends and new cultures. May we all grow to know any love one another."

All glasses were raised and liquor was drained from glasses to lips. Almost instantly, the mood of the party changed to far more drowsy as idle conversation punctured the atmosphere like a leaky balloon. Finally, the king clapped his hands and the food and drink was taken away. "I think that the Children of the Court will show you to your rooms now. If you wish, you can spend the day walking around our great city and getting to know its layout."

The group nodded silently and their waitresses and waiters came back into the room and led the group towards the door until the princess stopped them, pointing to John. Just seeing her make eye contact with her Spartan made her blood boil in her veins.

"I want the metal man to stay in the room next to mine," She purred and Caddy looked at John's face to see what his reaction would be to this.

"I do not sleep. I'm sorry, I don't need a room," he said nonchalantly and Caddy smirked when she saw the princess puff up like an angry tabby cat.

"Very well then," She said and gave John one last smirk before flipping her hair over her shoulder and turning to move out another door. Caddy looked towards John who had just finished putting his helmet back on. He looked over at her and she knew that even beneath his visor that they had made eye contact.

She turned away and tried her best to hide her blush but she knew it was too late. Did the Chief have the same feelings that she had towards him? They had gone a long way since the girl throwing peas in the lunchroom. Here she felt so...grown up.

She was shown to her room by a very handsome man who also showed a rather lovestruck Rhett to his room. The room was made of whitewash and had a worn rug on the floor. A comfy bed big enough for at least three more people her size sat against the wall and wicker furniture. From the giant window that was covered only by a screen, she could see the glittering ocean. She then turned towards the rather large wardrobe and opened it, wondering if she could find something that would take the place of her skintight suit. She hadn't packed for an overnight trip.

She opened the door to find dress upon dress that was built for someone at least a foot taller than her. They ranged in colors but the ones that seemed the smallest were lavender with aqua details. Slowly, she brought it out and wondered how the heck that it even got into her dresser. It was made for someone about her size but unlike the dresses that fell off the bodies of the long, lanky creatures, this hugged every curve.

She was thankful to be gifted with boobs that wouldn't be mistaken as nothing but the pooch that she had that had her thinking she might have been a marsupial in another life was another problem. Caddy, however, was a clever girl and so quickly moved around some of the cloth to cover up her little "problem."

"There we go, pretty as a picture," She mumbled to herself as she straightened out the dress. It fell off her shoulders and dipped precariously low over her breastbone. It reached the floor easily and she had to hike it up to go anywhere. Sure it wasn't the perfect fit by any means but it was a dress that would work.

Caddy slowly opened the door after using her fingers to comb out her hair and braid it down her back. She then stuck a flower in her hair and then opened the door to her room. All the rooms looked out into a courtyard that had a beautiful pond with a waterfall and strange frog looking creatures bouncing from lily pad to lily pad.

She moved over to a stone bench that had been placed next to the waterfall and sighed, watching the water move across the pond. She watched her reflection dance across the surface of the water and suddenly, her eyes widened when she saw someone standing behind her.

"John," She breathed, feeling her heart speed up in her chest. He was wearing a form fitting shirt and a pair of what seemed to be jeans (the jerk) and he looked extremely good in it.

He gave her a little half smile and then turned back to the pond, "Evans." He said gruffly and she just gave a breathy little laugh. How come was it whenever they were alone together, she acted like a middle school girl who was experiencing her first crush?

"You can call me Caddy," She said gently and John looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"Alright then...Caddy." He sat down and motioned for her to sit down next to him, "I've been trying to get to know you since I've met you."

She did indeed sit down next to him and then tugged on the end of her braid, "Sure, what's on your mind?"

He took a deep breath and then looked over across the water. "If you really must know, I have quite a few things going through my mind, the main one being you."

* * *

Samuels turned on COMlink and tried to get a good signal. He walked around his entire room until he finally got a staticy bit of service.

"Samuels! What the hell is going on down there?" Vaughn's voice snapped angrily and Samuels winced slightly as his voice filled his head.

"Well Sir, you're not going to believe it but...we found something. We found a civilization down here." He admitted and silence was heard on the other end.

"What do you mean a civilization?" Vaughn asked as Samuels hesitated.

"They claim to be Atlanteans from the Lost City of Atlantis...Actually, what I'm standing in right now is apparently Atlantis."

Silence again filled the radio. "Are you positive about this, Samuels?"

"I swear on the life of my daughter that we have found something down here, Sir." He said and Vaughn let out a breathy sigh, "Captain, what should we do?"

The other line was quiet for a moment until the captain spoke again, "Hold your position. I'm coming down there with the Admiral to see this for myself."

"Sir, I don't know..."

"Quiet Samuels. I need to see this one for myself." He said sharply and Samuels went silent. "Expect us there no later than 1100 hours tomorrow, do you understand me?"

"Sir, the time here is strange. We left at 0700 hours and already the sun is beginning to set here in the city." Samuels explained, "I'll see you when I see you."

"Are the people there...hostile?" Vaughn asked slowly and Samuels laughed.

"Their princess is a little cranky but other than that, the natives seem to be rather hospitable. I don't understand why they wouldn't have you with open arms."

"Very good Samuels. Then I shall see you tomorrow. Vaughn over and out."

The radio went dead and Samuels fell back onto the bed, running a hand over his head. He wondered if telling the Captain about Atlantis was the right thing to do. However, tomorrow would be the day that would decide whether or not they would truly be accepted in the world of Atlantis.

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**Hoping we gave you enough without giving too much! Anyway, as usual, reviews are something we cry tears of joy over. MAKE US CRY TEARS OF JOY!**


	6. Chapter 6

**So...as always, a new chapter of Set Fire to the Rain. Really, we have nothing to say other than thank you to everyone who has and is reviewing. You guys make our world go 'round.**

**Anywhoo...Hope you enjoy!  
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* * *

"Me? What about me?" Caddy scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest in an attempt to seem uninterested by John's words.

"You seem so...distant from the other men. You have your friends but you still walk like something is weighing you down."

Caddy turned her head away from John and looked over into the fountain. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Most people are relieved to see me. You, on the other hand, keep your rigid demeanor whenever I am around."

Caddy was silent for a moment before speaking again, "Why is it any concern of yours what I do and don't do? Did you ever think that maybe I've seen one too many Spartans in my time?"

"What are you talking about?" John asked, the tone of his voice changing slightly as he asked the questions.

Caddy flicked her eyes back to him and then deflated slightly, "When I was first in the UNSC, I was a medic. When I was 21, I treated a Spartan that I became really close with. I fell in love. He didn't."

"Who was it?" John's voice was deadly quiet now and Caddy felt her heartbeat speed up.

"Fred. It was Fred. When he died I..." She turned away, tears springing to her eyes, "I'm sorry, I don't want to talk about this."

John watched for a moment, though Caddy didn't notice his hand reaching out and touching his shoulder till after she felt the sudden warmth of his hand on her skin. She gasped, quickly wiped her tears away and gave him a small grin.

"But hey... it was to be expected I suppose, Spartans expect to die," she tried to sound confident in her words, but when she made eye contact with him, her breath was stolen away on how expressive his gorgeous brown eyes were.

No, I can't let this happen! Caddy thought to herself in extreme desperation but she made no move to break away, this contact was so intimate that neither could move. Caddy felt her lips part on their own, as if they almost expected a fiery kiss from this sexy man.

"John!" a lovely voice sang across the garden and Caddy glanced up to see the horrifically beautiful princess of all bitches herself gliding across the courtyard. "John, I was looking all over for you!"

John instantly hardened again and Caddy felt his hand fall away from her body, without realizing that he was keeping her shoulder warm. Of course, she knew that Spartans had unnaturally warm body temperatures but at that moment, she wished more than anything else that he could keep her warm.

"Your majesty," John said, giving her a curt bow. The princess gave him a smile dripping with sugared poison and then laughed fakely.

"Oh John, no need to call me Your Majesty! Call me Illyiaahn." She purred, noticing how Caddy's fingernails were digging into the hardened granite. She gave the pilot a little smirk and then held out her hand to John, "Come. I will show you the wonders of Atlantis."

"She's coming with us," John said blatantly, pointing at Caddy who was still seeing in red.

The princess huffed and her perfect mouth turned into a perfect frown, "She can find her own way around. Besides, she has friends."

"Are you saying that I don't?" John asked and Caddy silently cheered. Evil bitch princess: 0. John the Spartan: 1.

The Princess opened her mouth but then closed it and sighed angrily "Fine, as long as she can..." she gave Caddy a quick, disapproving once over, "keep up."

Caddy in that moment stood up, giving a rather nasty glare to the princess and smiled as sweetly as she could muster, which was hardly enough.

"Lead the way...Princess," she said the last word with all the venom she possessed. Illyiaan looked like she was going to have a temper tantrum before she turned on her heel and lead the duo out of the courtyard, Caddy stayed behind John, her mind wandered back to that moment just before the princess fucking ruined it. If it were only a moment longer, oh the thought of them kissing made her heart race to almost impossible lengths.

Damn her for ruining a perfect moment... Caddy thought nastily, she began to think of various tortures that she could use on the princess just for ruining the moment, the rest she will use to make sure the princess of bitches realizes that John is not available.

The trio tromped through the gardens of the palace and Caddy instantly realized that the princess was going to do everything in her power to lose Caddy. She tried flirting with John again but every time she did so, he just shut her down and Caddy silently danced in the back. She was used to being the third party during these sorts of outings but she never was the girl who was left behind when the other girl had her date!

"There's the council hall, where the council meets and the city square," She pointed out, never looking back at Caddy.

"Whoop-de-fucking-do," Caddy grumped as the princess looked at her from over her shoulder, shooting her a nasty look.

"You could at least be grateful! I mean, you wouldn't be here if it wasn't for dear John who was kind enough to allow you to come on our outing with us and you're lucky I'm so kind."

"Kind my ass," Caddy muttered under her breath as the princess tried to grab John's biceps but he pulled away.

Finally, they stopped in a beautiful atrium that was nearly full of coming and going birds in the strangest colors that Caddy had ever seen. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked up at the beautiful creatures.

"They're beautiful!" She breathed, reaching out to stroke a parrot-like one's plumage. The bird gave a squawk and then took flight, spreading its gossamer wings.

"They're just birds," the princess said, rolling her eyes, "Disgusting, nasty birds who deserve to be roasted up for dinner. Sort of like you."

Caddy turned around and cocked her head, narrowing her eyes. Even though the princess was far taller than her, she made up for that in attitude.

"You know, karma always has a funny way of showing itself to people, being a bird lover..." she happened to extend her arm to a bird, whom landed on her arm, the gorgeous bird began to delicately pick at its feathers with a colorful beak.

"And as a pilot, I have no hesitation when it comes to swooping down at my prey," she laughed to herself, it was a rather amused laugh, the bird flew off and she stretched her arms almost nonchalantly, as if the comment didn't piss her off (which it did) but the Princess's face was more than satisfactory. A mixture of anger and confusion, as if her words had no effect on Cadence Athena Evans, but this was not new to her, being Ms. bitch meant that she had to spot out the other bitches to be the biggest bitch.

"Shall we move on my sweet?" she asked John in almost a seductive tone, suddenly making Caddy invisible, which only pissed her off more.

"No."

"NO? Nobody says no to me!" The princess fumed before taking her perfect routine back on her face, "I'm sorry. Maybe I should have made myself clear. I am a princess. I have a power unlike any you have ever seen. It's called political. I can make your life Heaven or Hell here, John."

"I've been through Hell and back, princess. There's nothing you can do that I haven't seen." He said nonchalantly and the princess narrowed her eyes.

"Go ahead John. I'm going to spend some time here anyway," Caddy said, allowing a bird to nuzzle her. More birds had landed on her arms and shoulders, making her looking like a Mardi Gras parade float.

Finally, after much hesitation, John went with the princess, leaving Caddy to her own devices. Of course, she hadn't let him go without a fight. However silent she had been in the whole display, she was certainly not done fighting, even it it was a silent war she was waging.

The atrium was covered in bird poop, both fresh and old and Caddy knew of a very nasty trick one could play on a mean roomie or in this case, a bitchy princess. Pulling a piece of cellophane out of her pocket, she began to pick up as much bird poop as she could hold on the piece of plastic and then made her way back towards the palace. She knew that John's room was right next to the princesses and so she looked for the most elaborate set of doors before finally coming to a pair of gilded ones.

She slowly opened the door and found a woman's room. A small smile slowly crawled over her face and silently, she made her way towards the massive bathroom where jars and jars of powders and makeup stood at attention. Half of the bird poop went into the jar that was mostly empty, proof that she used it most often. Then, with much searching, she found something that might have resembled a toothbrush and she dunked that in the wet part of the poop. Congratulating herself on a job well done, she moved from the palace and made her way into the city.

Caddy knew that what she did would put her into trouble but she felt no regrets, if anything she could hardly wait to see what happens. However, her grey eyes searched for any sign of John, instead she only spotted a group of children playing ball in the town square, she smiled, she enjoyed children finding them very amusing and entertaining. Caddy spotted Florence in a tangerine colored dress and waved her down. Flo hiked up the skirt of her dress and dashed to meet her.

"Damn woman, that dress should make Chief want to throw you against the wall and kiss you silly" Florence smiled in approval.

I wish... she thought, "Nah, he wouldn't," she replied, but Flo shook her head.

"You are a terrible liar."

"No I am not, in fact I am an amazing liar."

Florence released a ring of laughter, "yeah, like that one time you lied to me about liking Fred, I knew you did when you looked at him with that star struck gaze," Flo over exaggerated the gaze by putting her hands on her own cheeks and blinking a million times.

"I never did that." She insisted and Flo snorted and rolled her eyes.

"So...where is the hunk anyway? I'd really like to see him in some delicious Atlantean garb right now."

Caddy made a face, "Out with princess Bitch at the moment."

Flo sighed and rolled her eyes before slapping her friend on the shoulder, "Dude. I can't believe you did that."

"Trust me. I don't either."

Suddenly, sweet lute music filled the air and the children and grownups alike turned their

heads to look at the the source of the music. On a small rise stood an Atlantean who held a lute and two others who held drums and what looked to be a flute. They began to play a lively tune and the children in the square began to dance and yell.

"What's going on?" Florence asked as children began to run around, playing as they danced.

"I don't know! Just go with it!" Caddy gasped as she began to dance around. The children caught wind of this and began to dance with her. They grabbed her long bony hands in their small, chubby ones and began to dance with her. A genuine smile lit up her face and she twirled around, laughing for the first time in a long while. She closed her eyes and allowed the music to sweep her away the children let go of her hands and she ran face first into something that might have been a brick wall.

She opened her eyes and looked up to see John standing there, the princess at his side looking like she might rip Caddy's head off.

"Oh John!" She gasped as someone pulled her back into the fray of dancers. However, as soon as the song ended, she found him again, surprised the princess didn't pull him away from the crowds.

"Hey Chief," Caddy approached with a breathless voice, she paused before she spoke again "Do you know how to dance?"

John gave her a rather surprised look before he replied with a rather quiet "No."

"Oh for the gods sake, dancing is for commoner fools whom have nothing else to do." The princess butted in. Caddy glared at the princess quickly before she extended her hand to John.

"I can teach you," she gave him a beaming smile "Please?"

John thought for a moment, he glanced back the princess before he took Caddy's hand "Sure...but I was never trained to dance."

Caddy beamed as she lead him away "Think of it as a new training exercise" she gave a rather smug look over her shoulder at the princess. Caddy lead away the more than willing John to the center where the music had started up again, a livelier tune as everyone decided to join in, Caddy even noticed Samuels tapping his foot.

"First thing you have to know is that you have to let go of yourself, once you've done that, get the feeling of the music going through you. Do you feel it?"

After a few moment, John began to bob his head to the music, "I think I'm getting it."

"Alright," She said, grabbing his hand and placing it on her ribcage, "Put your hand here and take my right hand with your left. You got that?"

As soon as she had taken his hand, she saw his expression change slightly. He was embarrassed of touching her! Caddy gave a breathless laugh and tried to quell the butterflies in her stomach.

"Okay, now after that, move your right foot first while I move my left foot," She explained and counted off. The first time, he didn't get it at all but by the third try, he wasn't stepping on her toes anymore.

"I apologize that I'm not a more apt dancing partner," he said and Caddy snorted.

"Trust me, I've had worse partners than you." They turned in a circle and Caddy pulled him along with her, "My stupid mother made me take dance classes when I was little, it's the only reason I know."

"Alright, I'll try to keep up." he said, watching the sun glint off the brown highlights that swam in her braid. He looked down at her ruddy cheeks and sparkling grey eyes and felt something he had never felt before slither through his belly and his cheeks began to warm even more than they had before.

"Caddy?" he said, his voice ever so slightly more husky than it usually was and Caddy glanced back at him, her eyes surprised to hear his lips speak her name.

"What is it, John?" She asked softly, slightly aware John's hands tightened around her own hand and her body.

"I...I..." he released her suddenly and then stalked away, leaving a rather surprised and hurt Caddy in his wake. What was he going to say to her, her heart lurched at the thought of him saying something mean or...unbelievably romantic.

"John, wait!" she called after him, following him, but she had to hold up her dress to the point of showing off her thighs. She managed to catch up with him and walk alongside him,

"Hey, what's the matter, was it something I said?" she asked, her eyes large with worry.

"No, it was nothing that you said Evans" he said tonelessly, Caddy felt her heart stop when he said her last name instead of her actual name. she reached out and grabbed his wrist, making him stop,

"Hey, what's wrong?" she almost demanded, her heart racing, as fear entered her system, was it going to be the same experience as with Fred, was she going to experience rejection?

"Nothing is wrong...I just, need some space, thank you for the dance lesson," he gently pulled away from her grip and walked on, leaving behind a rather confused and positively hurt Caddy.

"What the actual fuck just happened?" Flo's voice asked, putting her hands on her hips, looking rather confused, Caddy was staring at her hands, she could still feel the warmth where he touched her.

"I-I have no idea..." her voice cracked as she held back tears, she couldn't tell if John just rejected her or if he was too shy to say something.

"You were just too much for him, girly. It's alright." Flo said, leading her away from the crowds that were still dancing. "He just got a little cold feet, that's all."

"What did I do wrong?"Caddy whispered, turning to the side of the courtyard. The first person who saw the first tear fall was none other than the princess who was smirking at her from a distance.

Caddy clenched her fists and allowed Flo to lead her away from the square and back to the palace.

Admiral Victor Wayne smiled at the newfoundland, he felt like John Smith on his quest to conquer the New World, he felt happy that Admiral Stephen allowed to him to go in his place, he stood on the white beaches, examining the tropical forest ahead while everyone behind him was getting ready for the mission.

"We are ready at your request sir," Captain Vaughn spoke behind him, giving a very respectful salute, Admiral Wayne inhaled the salty air of the tropical waters "We move forward immediately"

Now is my only chance to make my deeds known, after this I shall be one of the most famous admirals in the entire galaxy next to Vice-Admiral Cole, the poor chap. he thought to himself with a rather triumphant grin that he hid from the Captain. Behind him, everyone made their march forward into the unknown.

Caddy hardly slept that night, she could barely contain her emotions, but then again she felt rather smug when it came to the images of the Princess smearing bird shit on her face, thinking it was beauty cream. She herself laugh loudly, being in the privacy of her own room, she was allowed to do that.

"What on earth are you laughing about child?" a melodious voice silenced her, Caddy jumped as she looked at the beautiful white haired queen.

"Oh, your majesty...um…I mean Athriaa." she blushed, but the queen chuckled as she sat down on the bed with Cadence, she was so beautiful when she smiled so sweetly like that, it was genuine, unlike the princess. Her amber eyes studied Caddy for a moment before she spoke,

"Is something bothering you, my child?" she asked, her eyes narrowed with concern, Caddy snorted in an unladylike fashion.

"Who me?" she laughed, "Nope, nothing at all."

The queen gave her a knowing look "Why do I get the feeling that it has to deal with the man in the green suit, the one my monstrous daughter is after?"

Caddy blinked in surprise, but she then sighed in defeat as she lied down, resting her head on the cloud like pillow.

"I...I don't know, I feel like I did something wrong, maybe I hurt his feelings..." she sighed sadly. The queen pushed a lock of black hair out of Caddy's face and smiled like any good mother would.

"Ah...I see, you are a very stubborn woman in love.." she mused with affection, Caddy blushed as she looked at Athriaa in horror.

"NO! I can't love a Spartan, especially him, he is the savior of our universe, Spartans were trained to fight, they can't even show enough affection to establish a romantic relationship, it's as if I was doomed to meet all male Spartan's whom come across my path!" she rambled on, her face turning redder by the moment, this response brought out a beautiful ring of laughter from Athriaa.

"Oh little one, a woman's heart is always the most complicated organ."

Caddy rolled onto her stomach, she grumbled childishly as she looked at the wall, "that makes no sense."

Athriaa chuckled, "Well, I guess you have nothing to worry about."

Caddy let herself relax when she felt the queens gentle hand on her back, it was warm as she stroked the skin on her back and pushed the braid out of the way.

"One other thing... the council room has a fine statue of Minerva, I recommend you go see it, try to connect with the warrior goddess within you."

Caddy looked up but the Queen had already left, as if she were the wind, Caddy paused as she looked down at the pillow then at the open door.

"Guess it wouldn't hurt to look," she sighed, getting up from the bed, she walked out of the room, yawning as she headed for the council building, not exactly worried to run into anyone.

She tiptoed down the street in little slippers and slowly made her way towards the gently glowing building. Narrowing her eyes, she looked for another way into the building to keep herself from being seen. Making her way through the bushes, she found that there was another smaller entrance in the back and so she slowly opened the door to find herself at the end of a hallway that led to...somewhere. She could hear a light at the very end of the hallway and so she that's where she now went.

"...The humans are being far too nosey!" The king was shouting into the murmuring crowds, "We need to attack now before more questions can be asked by them!"

"Sire, our fleets need time to get ready and..."

"No more buts. I've kept waiting for far too long. We should have attacked as soon as their war with the so-called Covenant was over." The king argued heatedly and Caddy took a step back, her heartbeat in her ears. They were going to attack Earth.

"But sire..."

"You heard the king! No more stalling!" Caddy made a face when she heard the voice of the greasy Atlantean that the king called an advisor. She had to warn her crew that the they were planning on attacking Earth and conquering it!

"For too long our people have stayed hidden from the mortals. We should again be worshipped as the gods we once were in the human world! They are weak but we are strong! We can fight them and win! We shall take the monster and use it to our own means and crush their petty fleet that takes refuge in our harbor! We are the greater of the two and now that their Admiral is here in Atlantis, we have even more leverage over the humans."

"But he seems to be a sharp man! How will you ever crush him?" A feminine voice asked and Caddy heard the king chuckle.

"My daughter is working her ways over the suited man, however... that won't be as necessary as I planned it to be, our technology is far more superior than theirs, no mere bullets can penetrate our shields, besides, the ones whom drank the liquor of the orchard will be more than occupied to notice that we have invaded their home."

Caddy covered her mouth to hide her gasp, no wonder the queen stopped her from drinking the wine!

"What if one finds out about our plan, what shall we do?" another voice asked.

"That's easy," the princesses voice chimed in like a terrible song, "Put them in the dungeon, torture them into silence...I will see to it"

"Very good daughter, you will become a formidable ruler..." the king praised.

"Thank you Papa...also, I have plans to see to the Admiral like myself since the suited man is turning out to be more difficult than I thought with the black haired bitch around."

Caddy gritted her teeth. So this is how is was going to be, Caddy couldn't wait to get her hands on her to silence the princess bitch once and for all!

"And what do you think you're doing?" A voice whispered huskily in her ear, she froze then turned to see a guard behind her, before she could attack to get away, he grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up with strength that seemed almost impossible for someone with a lithe body. He burst through the door, her scratching and screaming, the whole council stared at Caddy and the guard.

"And what do we have here? " The King purred and she flicked her eyes to see him, "A spy, perhaps?"

The princess gave her a little smirk and cocked her head, "Someone is being a bit too nosey for their own good!"

"You...cunt!" Caddy managed to get out while trying to poke the guard's eyeballs out.

"Oh, you pain me!" She said mockingly, putting a hand up to her heart in apparent sadness, "And here I was thinking we were getting along so swimmingly." She turned her eyes to her father and smiled softly at him, "Father, what should we do with the little bitch?"

"I personally think we should kill her...but her people would wonder where she went." The king said, "Maybe we can brainwash her into saying that we are the most hospitable creatures to ever walk the bottom of the sea."

The princess smiled and then her eyes widened as if she was thinking of something, "And, perhaps we can brainwash her into thinking that John and her will never fall in love because I doubt that the great warrior would want a little girl as disgusting and as ugly as the one that is in this room."

Caddy roared with rage as she managed to kick the guard in the gut, causing him to double over, when her feet touch the ground, she had all the power, she twisted out of the choke hold and punched him behind the jaw, sending him flying as she turned to face the other guards that charged at her, her small size overwhelmed the towering guards as she managed to trip them onto their backs, her dress ripped in the process but she didn't care, she ripped the length away, giving her leg room. Taking the guards weapon, she fought the new attack, disarming, then stabbing him in the gut as blood spewed into her arm and face. Mercilessly ripping it out before she defended herself against the other guard, similar fate but his was a nasty stab in the back through his heart as she suddenly ran with all of her strength, she bypassed the other guards and jumped into the table, her eyes wild along with her hair. Oh yes, she had gotten in touch with the warrior goddess within her, and she will be feared. Twirling the spear before she fought three guards at once, beating them all. She was so close to the princess she could almost taste it.

The Princess saw what a formidable foe this Cadence Evans was, to her own horror, she saw that the human female looked like the much feared goddess of war Minerva. With grey eyes, she looked straight at her, bloody spear in hand as other whom were not guard tried to stop her but Caddy pushed through them all, only seeing red as she attacked like a hawk, spear aimed for her heart, however the princess blocked the attack, flipping Cadence to the ground, however, Cadence stood up and attacked once more, both women tumbled to the ground, The princess felt something sharp across her cheek before she flipped the human over her, Cadence landed on her back a few feet away, the spear had flown from her hand, noticeably weakened, she stood up with a triumphant grin.

"Not so beautiful now, are you bitch?" she laughed. The princess touched her cheek and felt the long wound, deep enough to leave a very permanent scar. She screamed with rage, as the guards tackled cadence to the ground.

"Take her to the dungeons, torture her, kill, rape her, I don't care, do something to the bitch the ruined my beautiful face!"

Cadence was suddenly beaten by the guards till she couldn't move before she was whisked out of sight, she had left a casualty that the king had no expected, many of his guards were either slain or severely wounded, two of his councilmen suffered a blow from the human female.

"We have underestimated their strengths; if a human female is able to cause this much damage, what lengths can a male achieve?" The king pondered as the struggling female was led away. "What could that warrior do?"

The princess, who had recovered enough to glance back at her father, grimaced and then looked to where they had dragged away the princess, "I have him under my thumb, Father. He will not dare look for the girl once I am done with him."

The king slowly nodded and then smiled, "Then I guess I have you to thank for that."

John's eyes snapped open and he grabbed the pistol that was on his nightstand and pointed it at the beautiful creature who was sitting in a chair on the other side of the room, legs crossed and a soft smile plastered on her face.

"Good evening, John." She said in a soft voice that was so different than the princesses' husky purr. He could see where she got her breathtakingly good looks from but obviously had received her charm from her father.

"Your majesty," He said, dropping the weapon slightly, "What are you doing in here so late?"

The queen stood up and walked over to the Spartan, "My Dear John...You are a warrior. Once upon a time, I was heralded as a warrior. The warrior goddess, actually. They said my powers were unmatched by anyone and that I could help them in their times of need."

John looked into the queen's ever changing eyes and saw they now held a color of iron grey. "What are you doing here?"

She gave him a little smile and then sat down on the end of his bed, "John, there is a plot to destroy your world being put together by my daughter and my husband and an hour ago, your Caddy attempted to learn more about these plans. I have not heard from her since."

John leapt up from bed and began to throw on whatever he could reach, "Where is Caddy? I swear to God if they harm her..."

The queen held up her hand and looked at him with her strange grey eyes, "Calm down, child. As long as she has my blessing upon her, she will not come to any deadly harm. She is somewhere far away from here, past the mountains that border our island in a small prison that keeps only our most...interesting villains and criminals."

John was speechless, "Why can't you rescue her?"

She gave him a little wry smile and then looked towards the window, "If the queen was caught doing something like that, it would spark civil war. I am against what my husband is doing and what will come to pass but I care for my people as well. I will not put them in harm's way." She turned towards the door and suddenly, John's voice rang out across the room.

"Wait. Why come to me and tell me about her imprisonment? Why not one of her friends?"

The queen was silent for a moment before answering, "John. I will tell you this and tell you only once. My sister would probably do a better job of answering but that is alright. There are times in a mortal's life when they must come to terms with what they do not understand and this, for you, is one of those times. I know you have feelings for her and she for you and the bond you share is stronger than death itself. I am certain her friends do love her but you have a different sort of love that courses through you. It's love that can only come from the deepest confines of the heart. In other words, you are in love with Cadence Evans."

John was speechless again, "How do you...?"

"I have my ways, John. There is a cruiser that will take you over to the other side of the mountain at the docks. However, you must hurry because by the time they realize that you know, you have to be gone and getting her back." Athriaa said sternly and John could see the goddess that she might have been so long ago.

"What will happen to her?" he asked his voice calm but inside he could only think of the worst.

Athriaa sighed, her hand on the door "You must know that if you don't leave now, I am afraid only the worst can happen..."

John watched her leave, however he spared no time as he put on his suit, he quickly put it on and once his helmet clicked on and was secure. Mission in mind, search and rescue his beloved Cadence Evans.

He left his room, activated the invisibility as he sneaked across the courtyard down to the town square, he had little time before he wouldn't be invisible, when he exited the town she ran at full speed to the docks, seeing the cruiser he raced onto the boardwalk before he jumped onto the cruiser, it activated and levitated such as the machines during his time on the forerunner planet. No one noticed he had gone when he sailed quickly across the crystal clear water. His destination in sight, he noticed that there was a weapon hooked onto the cruiser, he would put it to good use later.

* * *

**TO THE RESCUE! How exciting! :3 reviews are loved! :D**


	7. ANNOUNCEMENT!

Hey guys! Queen of Asgard here with EmeraldxLady with a rather important announcement about "Set Fire to the Rain."

As of right now, it is our unfortunate duty to end this story at a rather annoying cliffhanger, we live basically a million miles apart and really fucking hard to do a collaboration when we both have such busy schedules.

We apologize for the inconvenience and instead of drawing out the long conclusion, we've decided that we might start a new story (don't get your hopes up though). It probably won't be in the Halo category but we shall see. Uh, other than that, thanks for reading what we put out and thank you for being such loyal fans of the story!

Until next time!

The Queen of Asgard

EmeraldxLady


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